Jack O'Lantern: Spirit of Fall
by Scorpius02
Summary: Story of how a new born spirit called Jack O. Lanternson, Spirit of Fall and Halloween, live his newborn life as a spirit. Read how he met and interact with the original characters from Rise of the Guardians.
1. Prelude

**Disclaimer: I do not own the ROTG universe or its original characters. This story is written within the ROTG universe. The rest of the characters belong to me.**

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**Prelude: Where It Ended**

Hey guys. If you are reading this story, then that means you are interested in what I'll be telling you. So to make sure we get this clear and nobody gets confused when reading this, the name's Jack. No, not Jack Frost, Mr. I-freeze-everything-for-the-hell-of-it. I'm Jack O. Lanternson. Most people would probably know me as Jack O'Lantern.

So to get my story started, I'll start at the beginning, where it all began. So let's take a little trip down memory lane. My memories, of course. So it all began on a Halloween night many many years ago...

I was born in a small town called Blacksburg, Virginia. The moon was full and bright in the night sky. Kids were out trick-or-treating with their families, trying to get as many candies from every house they knock on. Pranksters going around causing mischief and scaring unlucky kids that come across them.

For me, I had plans. Well, my friends did anyways. We were in the forest behind our neighborhood. We made plans to explore the abandoned mine there. There were rumors of it being haunted by ghost of miners that died when some of the tunnels collapsed several years ago. Of course, I didn't believe in ghosts and ridiculous stuff like that. It was probably adults trying to keep the kids away so they don't try something stupid.

And of course, it didn't work for us or my friends wouldn't be standing at the entrance to the mines that night. Being high school kids and all, we were bound to do something stupid. The entrance had boards covering it loosely with a sign that says, "Danger! Do not enter." The boards were very old and worn out. Probably tens of years old. If the people who closed this mine wanted to keep other people out, they did a really bad job at it since one can just easily go under or jump over the boards.

My friends and I stared deep into the dark entrance, seeing nothing but pitch darkness. There were also a low moaning sound coming from inside. A very creepy and spooky moaning sound...

Which gave me an idea.

"Are we seriously going in there?" asked one of my friends. That would be Michael, but we like to call him 'Mikey.' The guy had a medium straight and muddy brown hair with droopy olive green eyes. Kinda chubby and the shortest one out of all of us here. He was wearing our school sports jacket and baggy jeans. He was always the chicken of our group. Not the mention, the one with the highest pitch when he screams. He could probably shatter glass if he went a little higher.

"Come on, Mikey. It's not that scary," assured another of my friends. "It's only the wind." That's Irwin. Short wavy and sandy blond hair with sharp oak brown eyes. He was the sports type so he had a pretty good built in him. He was also wearing our school sport jacket like Mikey, but his pants were long dark brown. He likes to act tough sometimes, but I could tell he was a little nervous himself. He's a nice dude. A little bossy, I guess, but he's great guy to hang out with. I consider him as the leader of the group, which everyone else didn't have any complaints about it. Including the guy himself. Him and I have been friends since Kindergarten, so we were best buds for a long time.

"There's probably another opening somewhere where the wind is coming in through. That's why it sounds like a moan. Besides, we have flashlights and in case someone gets hungry, cookies!" And that's Philip. We call him 'Phil' for short. We consider him the wise guy in our group. For him, his hair is jet black, short and sleek. Black almond shaped eyes. He's not buff like Irwin nor was he skinny. He was probably like average or normal. He was wearing a navy blue button down shirt that was unbuttoned, a green long sleeve shirt underneath, and tight skinny jeans.

The mine moaned again. Poor Mikey looked pale as ghost, but that didn't stop what I was going to do. I slowly crept behind him with a mischievous grin across my face. Then I pounce on him and cried "BOO!"

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Mikey screamed.

I laughed hysterically from his reaction.

"Jack! God! That wasn't funny!" shouted Mikey, shaking me to make me stop laughing, which wasn't working. It was making me laugh even more.

"You should've seen your face!" I laughed harder. For me, I was like the prankster of the group. I have flaming wavy long red hair that goes down to my shoulder. My eyes are hazel colored and slightly larger than Irwin. Average size body and height. I also have freckles on my cheek like most red heads do. I was wearing my favorite orange-brown pumpkin T-shirt with an orange long sleeve shirt underneath, a dark brown sleeveless jacket with a hood, and lastly, a pair of straight jeans. I get a kick out of scaring people. The reaction they make is just so hilarious.

The others started to laugh. It took Mikey awhile to stop shaking me and just smile out of embarrassment while scratching his head. The atmosphere of the group lightened up a bit. This was also another favorite part I like when I scare people. Laughing. Scaring people and make them laugh about it afterwards is my specialty. A little scare is good, but traumatizing them is not. A good scare is only good when everyone is laughing.

Then there was a sudden beeping sound coming from Phil. Our heads turned towards him out of reflex. Phil pulled out his small black pager and read the message on the screen. "It's my mom. She said to be home before eleven."

"So we have about four hours then. Alright guys, time to get a move on," said Irwin. "Everyone has a flashlight, right?"

Everyone pulled out their flashlights and switched it on. Mine was my favorite handy-dandy spider flashlight. The whole thing was covered in spider stickers that I put on to make it more interesting.

"Ready!" everyone replied.

Then we entered the mines. It was dark inside, but thanks to our flashlights, we could see where we were going. It was also pretty cold. I was shivering a bit from the low temperature here and wishing that I brought a thick jacket instead of my sleeveless one. The walls of the mine were covered in webs and dust that were gathered and untouched for so long.

We walked for a while, exploring each tunnel. Phil brought a small box of kid's chalk to mark each tunnel so we don't get lost. Brilliant as always.

"See any ghost yet?" I asked just to break the silence. Then I whispered into Mikey's ear, but not enough to keep the others from hearing. "Maybe they'll pop out and say Peak-a-boo!" I made the 'Peak-a-boo' a little louder and sudden to make my scaredy cat friend jump, which worked like a charm.

"Ah! Stupid Jack!" he screamed. I laughed.

The others also laughed while they watched Mikey punched me in the arm. It wasn't hard enough to make me bruise, but enough to make me say, "Ow! Alright! Alright! I'll stop. Jeez, you're just too much fun to scare."

"Come on, guys. You especially, Jack. We should be close to the main area of the mine," said Phil.

"Let Jack have his little jokes. It kinda helps lighten up the mood around here," thought Irwin.

Then there was a loud moan echoing through the tunnels. Bouncing off the walls. Getting louder and louder.

"Eeeeep!" Mikey squeaked and hid behind me, shaking. Heck! The poor guy was grasping onto my clothes, probably to keep from me moving and using me as a shield if something were to happen. Isn't he just a great friend to have? That was sarcasm, by the way.

"Well, that was seriously freaky." said Phil.

"Nothing to worry about. Just the wind, right?" Irwin reminded us, trying to sound tough, but his voice said otherwise. It was clearly shaking.

"Um... guys, why the hell are you all behind me?" I asked. Behind me, all three of my friends were using me as a shield. Okay, let me rephrase what I said earlier. Aren't _they_ just great friends to have?

"Well, you are the bravest out of all of us. Practically, nothing scares you," explained Phil.

"Not true!" I argued. "I have a few stuff that I'm scared of."

"Really? What? I always see you laughing every time when something scary happens. Like the time when we had that movie horror night a few weeks ago. You were smiling throughout the whole movie and even laughed at every jump scares!" complained Mikey.

"Of course, I do," I said firmly. "My mom."

Then there was silence.

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We finally made it to the center of the mine after roaming the tunnels for awhile. The room had a really high ceiling where there's an opening at the top where the moonlight was shinning through. The light from our flashlight darted everywhere to help us see what was around us. From here, there were many other tunnels going in different directions and rail tracks going through them all. There were even a few wagons lying around. Some of them seemed to still look intact. Then there were wooden crates and barrels here and there. Not sure what's in them.

"Well, guys, we're here," I announced to my friends.

And here comes the main part of this whole plan.

"Who has the ouija board?" Irwin asked.

"Me," Phil replied and pulled out a wooden ouija board. It was an old ouija board that we found in Phil's attic when we were playing treasure hunt.

We set up the ouija board on the ground and we all sat around it, placing our flashlights beside us. I looked around at everybody to see how everybody was doing. Mikey was pale as ever and shaking like crazy. Irwin didn't look as bad as Mikey. Even though he was trying to keep a straight face, he was kinda pale and sweating from nervousness. Phil looked pretty calm out of the three. Like me, he probably doubts there are any ghost here. I don't believe in ghost period, but there are real fun to use to scare people.

Then we started with the chanting mumble jumble to start the game. Our hands were on the wooden piece thingy with a glass thingy to indicate the letters or word. I had this idea again and couldn't help myself.

"Is anybody here? Please reveal yourself?" asked Irwin.

Nothing happened.

"Can anybody hear me? We like you to respond to us, please?" Irwin asked again.

First there was nothing, then the wooden indicator started to move. I could hear Mikey squeak in surprise. Everybody's eyes were glued to the board, holding their breath. The indicator slowly moved to one letter to the other. Spelling out...

_Salutation_

"Uh... who are you?" Irwin asked, his voice shaking.

_I am the ghost of this mine_

"Um..." Irwin paused. Not sure what to ask next.

"Ask what he's doing here?" suggested Phil.

Irwin nodded and ask Phil's question.

_Waiting_

"Waiting? Waiting for what?" demanded Mikey, looking freaked out.

Then the indicator moved again.

_For you_

"OH GOD! OH GOD! OH GOD!.." Mikey kept repeat the Great Lord's name over and over again out of sheer panic. The look of horror on his face was priceless, so I just burst out laughing. I seriously couldn't keep it in. If I tried, I probably would've broken a rib or two.

Of course, once I laugh, everybody knew it was me.

"JACK OLIVER LANTERNSON! YOU ARE SO DEAD!" Mikey yelled as he lunged at me.

I laughed liked crazy as he tried to strangle me. Well, not really trying to strangle me, of course. Just enough to make me shut up, I supposed. But the look on his face earlier was worth it.

"I should've known it was you," I heard Irwin sighed. I could hear relief and amusement in his voice when he said that.

Phil, on the other hand, was covering his mouth with his hand while trying to hold in his laughter. His whole body was shaking as he tried to hold it in, but I could see he was smiling through his eyes. He probably knew it was me, but didn't say anything. Phil was always the sharp one.

Laughter and shouts echoed throughout the cave. Everything seemed fine and nothing was out of the norm. We were all having fun and enjoying our moment.

But then we heard something. Something that didn't sound right. It was like wood sliding over wood. We all stopped what we were doing and turned to where the sound was coming from.

It was coming from the ouija board.

What we saw made all of us froze. The indicator was moving around the ouija board _on its own!_ No one was touching it.

"Jack, seriously. Enough with the jokes man. This is way too freaky," said Irwin.

"It's not me! I may be a prankster, but I'm not a magician," I retorted back. All my friends knew that if I pulled a prank on anyone, I would admit it. Since I denied it, so that means it really wasn't my doing. Right when I said that, there was a gust of cold wind blowing in the mine. How that was possible was beyond me. Then everyone quickly dashed behind me, again, and stared at the ouija board as if it was possessed, which really was at this point.

I also stared at the board, but I was more curious then afraid. I didn't believe in ghost, but right now, I was really considering of rethinking about that thought. Then I decided to walked up to the board slowly to see what the indicator was trying to say. Everyone else stayed where they were.

"Jack, what are you doing?" demanded Irwin, almost a whisper. "Get back here!"

"Jack..." called Mikey, worriedly.

I ignored their calls. I grabbed my flashlight and shinned it at the board. With each letter being indicated, I slowly put them together.

_Hello there_

Chills ran down my spine, but I still stood there.

_What might you children be doing here in this cold dark mine on such a night_

"Who... who are you?" I demanded. I had to admit, I was pretty scared.

_The name is Pitch Black_

"Pitch Black?" That was a weird name.

_You would probably know me as the Boogeyman _

Now this made me laugh. "Pft! Boogeyman? Seriously?" At this point, my fear just disappeared. Come on! Boogeyman? The monster hiding under the bed? That's like something adults would use to scare their kids. I already out grew that crap. Besides, the Boogeyman should be under the bed, not in a mine! "Is this like some kind of joke to get back at me, guys? 'Cause you guys almost got me there. I don't know how you made the indicator move like that, but I admit that was a pretty neat trick." I turned towards my friends, but none of them were laughing. They all looked confused and terrified. If they were acting, they were doing a hell of a good job at it. But knowing my friends, they were horrible actors.

Then I heard the indicator moved again and I looked back.

_So you don't believe me_

_Then I'll prove it to you_

_Let's see if you can still laugh after this_

Out of nowhere, there was a strong and chilly gust of wind and laughter echoing through out the whole mine. It wasn't coming from my friends and, definitely, not from me. The laughter was coming from everywhere. It was an evil and cold laugh. Suddenly, my flashlight went out, putting all of us in total darkness. Even the moonlight was gone from the opening in the ceiling. What a great time for the moon to be covered by the clouds! I tried shaking my flashlight, hoping the damn thing would turn back on, but to no avail.

Then I heard Mikey scream.

"NOOOOOOOOO! STOOOOOOPPPPP! I have enough of this bull shit!" Then he turned around and ran. Since he couldn't see anything, he ran blindly into the darkness and tripped into something with a loud crash. From what I could tell from the sound, he probably ran into some of the crates. I could hear woods being broken and stuff rolling onto the floor.

"Mikey! Are you alright? Where are you?" Phil called.

By this time, the wind and laughter was gone.

"I can't see anything! Someone get the flashlight!" Irwin shouted.

"They're not working!" I shouted, trying all the flashlights since I was closest to the ouija board, which is where we left them.

"Does anybody have a match or lighter?" Irwin shouted again.

"I think I have a lighter on me," told Mikey. Then I heard shuffling as Mikey tried to find the lighter. "Got it!" Then there was a clicking sound as Mikey tried to get some light. I could tell he was panicking from the sound of the clicking being rushed to light up. Finally, there was a small speck of flame, but Mikey accidently burned his finger during his rush that he dropped the lighter. "Ow!"

The lighter fell to the ground, but luckily, the flames didn't go out. But when we all finally were able to see what was around us, we all went into pure shock. What Mikey crashed into was a crate full of TNT. The classic red cylinder shaped ones at that. They were scattered everywhere around him. And what made us all jolted back to our sense was a sound of something sizzling.

The lighter fell and lit up one of the gun powder filled tubes.

Only one thought came to my mind at this point.

"RUN!" I yelled at the top of my lungs.

We all ran into the tunnels, just in time to hear a loud explosion behind us. Then the whole tunnels shook and rocks were falling over our heads. Then I could hear more explosions from behind us, shaking the tunnels harder then before. I don't know how we were able to run without hitting the walls or tripping over a rock, but we just kept running like hell. We ran and ran through the tunnels as the ceiling was falling down on us. To our luck, we saw light at the end of the darkness.

"It's the entrance! Hurry!"

I don't know who said that and I didn't care to find out, but we all ran towards the light. As the light got closer and closer, I felt more and more hopeful to get out of here alive. But something made me stop in my tracks.

"Oof!" Someone tripped behind me and I looked back. I saw Irwin lying on the ground. I quickly ran back and helped him up on his feet.

"Hurry!" I cried. We both ran towards the light. The tunnel was collapsing around us. The light was getting larger and larger. I could almost see the moonlight shinning in the sky.

"Go! Go! GO!" I shouted through the loud rumbling of the tunnel falling down on us.

The entrance was getting closer. Only ten feet away... Eight... Five...

Then there was a loud cracking sound. For only a split second, I saw the ceiling over the entrance crumbling down. I only had time to scream, "Irwin! Jump!"

Without thinking at all, Irwin jumped as told and flew out the entrance just in time and the rocks came crashing down on the entrance. Debris and dust flew every.

Everybody coughed from dust in the air.

"Everyone alright?" cried Phil as he coughed.

"I'm fine," replied Mikey.

"Ow! God!" exclaimed Irwin. "I'm so not ever doing that again."

"Wait a minute. Where's Jack?" Phil quickly noticed that someone was missing.

"Jack?" Irwin quickly realized it, too. He immediately looked around back at what once was the entrance of the mine. As the dust cleared out, lying in front of the pile of rocks was a flashlight covered in spider stickers.

Jack Lanternson never made it out of the mine that Halloween night.

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Thank you for reading. Please comment or leave feedback or suggestions.

So that's the intro and the beginning of the story before entering the real plot. Hope you guys enjoyed. The next update will be soon.


	2. Prologue

******Disclaimer: I do not own the ROTG universe or its original characters. This story is written within the ROTG universe. The rest of the characters belong to me.**

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**Prologue: And Where It Began**

It was another cold night somewhere in fall. The moon hovered silently in the sky. But unlike other nights, this night the moon was especially larger and brighter as if it was a special night.

And a special night it was. It was a night when a new spirit will be reborn into the world.

The moon hovered over a spot in the forest that was once a mine before it completely collapse many nights ago. The entrance of the mine was blocked by dirt and rocks, making it almost impossible to dig out. But what was important was not the mine, but what was placed in front of it. Lying on the ground in front of the entrance was a small gravestone with flowers and tiny lit candles placed around it. The carvings on the stone was the name of a boy that lost his life on the same night the mine collapse.

After the death of the boy, his family and friends made this small grave as a memory to him. They all grieved and mourned for him dearly. To have a boy so young lose his life so soon was almost unfair for the boy and his family, but the _Man in the Moon _sees it otherwise. Man in the Moon shined his light brightly at the small grave, welcoming the new arrival.

At first, nothing was happening. It was quiet except for the small critters roaming the night. Suddenly, there was small gentle breeze and small flames of the candles began to dance as if it was alive. Instead of flickering out, the flames rose into the air, forming an orb. The orb of flames started to grow larger and larger and larger until it was the size of a car. Then the flames began to shift. The top of the flaming ball began to disappear and slowly spread to the bottom. As the fire started to vanish, a figure emerged from within the flames.

It was a boy. A teenage boy with red flaming hair like the fire around him. It was glowing and flowing as if it was fire itself. He was in the air and his body huddled in ball, which his knee was up to his chest with his arms wrapped around his stomach. His head was resting on his knee and his eyes were closed as if he was sleeping. As the flames almost disappeared, the boy began to stir. His eyes slowly opened, revealing bright amber eyes that glowed gently.

As the boy slowly wakes up, his arms and legs gently fell down into vertical position due to gravity. At the same time, he also began to float down onto the ground. The boy landed on his feet, but still a little dizzy from being woken up from a long sleep. He lost his sense of balance for a while before he straightened himself up in time.

The boy looked around, confused. He wasn't sure how he got there and why was he here in the first place. He tried to remember what was the last thing that happened before he woke up in this dark forest. Then memories began to flash back before his eyes.

Yes, he was here with his friends to explore a mine, but where are his friends? And the mine? He turned around and saw the pile of rocks on what was once the entrance of the abandoned mine. He then spotted the small gravestone, flowers, and candles in front of it. Curious, he walked up to the gravestone and read the carving on it.

_Jack Oliver Lanternson_

The boy's eyes grew wide as he realize that it was his name. The boy jumped backwards in confusion and shock, trying to comprehend what this meant. He was dead? He was really dead?

Then flashes of memories came back into his mind. They weren't exactly making sense since his memory seemed to be jumbled up due to shock. It was as if someone turned on a TV in his head and kept changing the channel every second. He remembered explosions, rocks falling around him, running through cold dark tunnels, and then...

A bone chilling laughter.

"Ugh!" the boy cried in pain as he clutched his head. He felt his heart pounding in his chest and his body shaking. The flash of memory of the cold evil laugh was sending chills down his spine. He was afraid. He couldn't remember who it was that was making that laugh...

Or more like he didn't want to.

Then he felt a presence behind him. There was soft gentle light shinning upon him as if comforting his fear and confusion. The boy turned around and saw the moon before him. The moon was large and shinning brightly in the sky. The boy didn't know why, but he felt safe and his fear vanished from his heart.

He felt as if the moon was assuring him that there was nothing to fear. He also felt that the moon was trying to tell him something as well, so he listened. That was when the moon gave him his name.

_Jack O'Lantern_

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Thank you for reading. Please comment or leave feedback or suggestions.

Now the prologue is done. Time for the story to start.


	3. Chapter 1 Spirit of Flames

******Disclaimer: I do not own the ROTG universe or its original characters. This story is written within the ROTG universe. The rest of the characters belong to me.**

******Since I had such good feedbacks and they just made my day. I decided to post the first chapter as a treat, which I was planning to post a few days later or a week later.**

******This chapter is going to be about how Jack O. Lanternson spent his first day as a spirit. He'll discover his abilities, what has happened to his family and how much the world has change when he was gone. Enjoy**

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**Chapter 1: Spirit of Flames**

You've already read how I died that Halloween night and how I was reborn again and given a new name by the moon. Now it's time to tell what happened afterwards. You know. After I was reborn and stuff. I can assure you that I wasn't taking it all in that easily. Well, I did die and all. Turning into a spirit and roaming my afterlife was not that easy to accept. Besides, I didn't believe in ghost before, but I'm now pretty much one myself. Talk about being ironic.

The first thing I thought, once I accepted I was dead, was my family. I quickly ran through the forest on the path my friends and I took when we came here. Luckily, I still remembered and it wasn't long before I saw lights through the trees. I came dashing out of the forest and onto a street. I was running through the neighborhood, jumping into people's yard, and climbing over fences. But when I was running passed a car that was parked beside the sidewalk, I noticed something weird, so I went back to the car and looked at the glass window. What I saw made my jaw drop.

"Holy horses! My HAIR is on FIRE!" I screamed in horror. Actually, it wasn't really on fire. My hair was just glowing like neon lights and unnaturally flowing in the air as if it was in water. With my natural red-orange hair color, it looked like my head was on fire.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh hhh!" I ran around screaming at the top of my lungs, trying to put out the lights out of my hair. I tried everything I could think of to put it out. I smacked my hair around hoping it would go away. Didn't work. Stop, drop, and roll. Nope. Dived into a pool in someone's backyard. Nada. Jumped into a pile of mud. Ugh!

Nothing I did made my hair stop glowing. After half an hour of failed attempts, I finally gave up and accepted the fact that my hair is now a glowing night light. At least it wasn't actual fire or burning my head. That would've been horrible.

I went to look at myself again at another car's window. That's when I noticed that it was not just my hair that's glowing. Even my eyes were glowing yellow! First, I turned into a spirit! Second, my hair turned into sad copy of fire! Now, my eyes are glowing like headlights! My reaction for this?

"This is... so COOL!" I cried out in excitement. I guess turning into a spirit wasn't all that bad. Then I wondered what else I get for being a spirit. An idea came to mind. Since I always wanted to do this, I just had to try it out. I bended my knees and concentrated on what I wanted to do. Then I jumped with all my might.

Just as I thought! I flew several feet into the air! It was exhilarating!

"Woah!" I exclaimed in amazement. Of course, being my first time doing this, I didn't have a good grasp at this. I made unintentional somersaults in the air and lost my sense of control of the direction.

"Oh sh...!" Before I could finish my sentence, I came crashing into a pile of trashcans in someone's yard. Freshly thrown trash and metal trash lids flew everywhere, causing a huge raucous. I even thought I heard a cat screeching when I crashed as well. "Ow..." I moaned in pain. "Gotta work on my jump." The stench of the left over food was not pleasant. And that other horrible smell... Are those diapers!?

With the loud crash I made, I woken up the people in the house. I could see lights being turned on through the windows.

"What was that?" Someone yelled from within the house. That one sounded like a man.

"It must be those damn raccoons again!" Yelled another voice. This time, it was a female's voice.

"Those god damn vermins! Where's my shotgun?!" The man demanded.

That's my cue! I quickly got up and ran like hell. I didn't want to stay around to see man running down the house with a shotgun. I jumped over fences again to get onto the streets. I was getting the hang of jumping around, so I tried jumping higher and higher. Now I was jumping from roofs to roofs. The feeling of the cold wind in my face was great and feeling as light as a bird was even more amazing. It almost felt like a dream.

I kept jumping from one roof to the other, heading straight home.

Since it was in the middle of the night, there were barely any people out on the streets. But I was a spirit, right? Nobody should be able to see me then.

It wasn't long before I recognized the roof of my house. I landed next to the window to my room. It was dark inside, so I couldn't see very much. Then I decided to check out the first floor, where there were lights shinning from the windows.

I jumped down from the roof and landed gently on the ground. I looked through one of the windows that showed the living room. I was in luck! My parents were there right now, sitting in front of the TV.

But something was different. The living room looked different from the last time I remembered. The furniture was rearranged and the walls were repainted. My parents looked much older as well. They had a lot wrinkles on their faces and small several streaks of white hair that can be seen clearly. And that TV...since when were TVs that BIG?!

While I was in shock from the look of the living room that has changed since when I was gone, I heard some kind of wailing and crying from nearby.

A baby?

Then I noticed my mother quickly got up from the sofa, whispered something to my father, and walked towards the hallway to the stairs. I flew back onto the second floor to see where it was coming from. Suddenly, lights streamed out through one of the windows.

It was the window from my room.

I was definitely surprised at this. Why is there a sound of a baby crying coming from my room? I looked through the window to check it out, but what I saw made my heart fall. I stared in dismay at my room. Or what used to be my room.

Everything that I had was gone! My bed, my draws, my desk, and my things! All gone! Replaced by a crib and few new furnitures that I never saw before. Even the room had new wallpaper! It used to be my favorite space wallpaper with glow-in-the-dark stars on the ceiling, but now it's covered in white flowers and purple butterflies with a pink background! There were toys and stuffed animals scattered all over the floor.

While I was observing what was once my room in shock, my mom was at the crib and lifted up a crying baby into her arms. The baby was wearing a pink one piece pajama with red ladybugs patterns on it. From the look of the room and clothes the baby was wearing, I can safely say that the baby must be a girl. She looked like she might be two or three years old, but I'm not very sure. Her hair was slightly long and light brown like my father. I had my wavy red hair from my mom.

"Shhhh, don't cry sweetie," my mom hush the baby softly. "Did you have a bad dream? Don't worry. Mommy's here."

The baby slowly stopped crying, but she still had tears in her eyes and making small sounds as if she wasn't appeased yet. Then my mom started to sing a lullaby that she used to sing to me when I had bad dreams when I was a kid.

_The sun has set_

_The moon has rise_

_The stars are shinning_

_Blessing you with a good night's dream_

_So sleep my child_

_For you'll be safe_

_I'll always be here_

_To sing you this lullaby_

She sang in her gentle warming voice that I haven't heard in so long. I felt sadness and longing hitting me in the chest like a bullet. I wanted to go back. I wanted to go back to my family. I wanted to go back to what it once was.

I felt something warm running down my cheeks and when I touched it, it was wet. I realize I was crying. I couldn't stay a moment longer, so I left. If I stayed, it would've been more painful. I was no longer there. I don't exist in that house anymore. My parents had a new child to replace me, so I was already forgotten. The thought made my heart ached even more and tears continued to stream down my face as I flew away.

I didn't know where to go, so I let the wind carry me to wherever it would lead me. I eventually found myself in a church courtyard. I remember this church well. I would come here often with my parents every Sunday morning to listen to the priest preach stuff out of the bible. It was dreadful. Can't last more than five minutes with that voice he had that kept putting people to sleep.

Since it was at night, the church was probably locked, so no use trying to get in there. Instead, I walked towards the graveyard next door. I am a ghost, so it shouldn't be strange to go to a graveyard, right? I jumped over the metal bar fences, since the gate was locked, and just strolled around. Strangely, I felt more at peace here than afraid. Kinda weird. Right? But since this place is where dead people would come and rest, I guess it would make sense. I looked around the graves and spotted a statue of an angel in the center of the graveyard. Without really thinking, I walked towards the statue and sat on the platform to take a rest. I really needed a place to rest my mind after this long night.

After what I had to go through, I started to seriously think about my situation. It was fun and all at first, but why am I here? I don't remember much when I was still dead and asleep in that mine. I only remember being woken up by something. It felt like someone was calling for me. When I saw the moon, I knew it was him that called me from the dead. What was his purpose for bringing me back? Why did he have to do that? Since I was dead, why not just let me sleep in peace so I wouldn't see that horrible scene back at my home? What used to be my home...

Then I felt my anger boiling up. Why did the moon have to bring me back?! Why not leave me alone?! I jumped down from the platform and glared at the moon above.

"Why did you bring me here?! What am I supposed to do?! God damn it!" I screamed at the moon.

The moon said nothing.

I kicked rock out of anger and glared at the moon again. I could feel my fists shaking and my emotion going out of control. "WHY THE HELL AM I HERE?! TALK! DAMN IT!" I screamed again. At the same time, I could feel my eyes burning and something warm streaming down my cheeks again.

The moon remained silent.

"ARGH!" My emotion exploded. I felt like ripping my hair out and scream at the top of my lungs. Then I kicked the platform of the angel statue out of anger, which was a bad idea, and ended up hurting myself. "OW! SHIT!"

Then I forcefully sat down, wrapped my arms around my knee, buried my head into it, and cried. I just sat there and sobbed for who knows how long, in which I didn't care.

The air around was getting cold and I shivered. I guess even spirits can feel cold. At a time like this, I wished my hair _was_ really on fire. That way it would keep me warm on a night like this. I rubbed my hands together to create enough friction to warm my hands and then blow warm air at it again.

I continued to rub and blow my hands to keep warm until...

"Poof!" Oh, I just made fire with my bare hands...

"Aaaaahhhhh!" I screamed in shock. I quickly slapped my hands together out of reflex and it immediately put out the flames. I stared at my hands, still clapped together, and huffed several times, trying to catch my breath after the shock from the fire trick I did. There was a small stream of smoke coming out of my hand that was caused from putting out the flames, but I felt no pain. I slowly opened my hands and discovered that the fire was gone. Was it my imagination? The small amount of smoke still on my hand says otherwise.

I tried rubbing my hands again and blew on it. The first few times didn't work, but finally on my sixth...

"Poof!" Behold! Fire!

This time I didn't scream or put out the flames. I just let it dance in my hand. There was warmth coming from the flames, but it wasn't burning my hand at all. I didn't even feel pain whatsoever when you usually put your hands really close to fire. The warmth of the fire was just right. It was enough to keep me warm for the night, but having to hold out my hand like this the whole time doesn't sound convenient.

I looked around to see if I can find something to lit up or put fire in like a candle or lantern. Then I spotted something close by. I stood up and went to take a look at it. It was a very worn out looking black pole with a very bent looking lantern. The lantern was made up of thin metal bars that made it looked more like a bird cage than a lantern if not for the spot to put a candle in. It also looked like it used to be rounder, but somehow it got so bent out of shape that it became shorter like an oval. The pole itself wasn't too tall and a little bent to the side. It was also about my height. The top of the pole had a cat figure with its tail holding the lantern. This looks doable, so I grasped the pole and tried wiggling it to see if it was stuck to the ground. To my luck, it came out of the ground easily.

Suddenly, I felt something warm going down my arms. I stared down and noticed some kind of bright orange cracks on the pole, where my hands were, slowly spreading through the pole and all the way up to the lantern. The glow of the orange cracks was pulsing almost as if it was alive. When the cracks reached the figure of the cat, its eyes glowed bright orange. Then, once the cracks reached the lantern, the whole thing burst into flames. It was so bright that I had to close my eyes and turn away. I could feel the warm air from the roaring flames blowing around and I swear I could hear a laugh coming from it, too. When it felt like the air has calmed down and everything went silent, I opened my eyes and looked at the lantern again.

The look of the lantern changed. Now it looked like the lantern has a face. A mischievous look at that! It almost seem like it was laughing at me for some reason. There was also a bright orange fire inside the lantern as well. The flames were bright and warm. It danced beautifully inside the cage-like container. The orange cracks from before disappeared completely, leaving no traces of the pole being harmed. Only the creepy laughing lantern and the orange glowing eyes cat remain.

"Okaaaaayyyyy, that wasn't creepy at all." Sarcasm applied.

I stared at the now changed lantern pole. Not really sure what to do with this.

"I guess I can use it for light and warmth," I thought as I wave the thing around. I kept discovering new tricks with my new found powers today, but I still don't really understand them at all. So far, I self-taught myself to jump and fly. And it seemed I might have control over fire, one way or another. I wonder what else I can do?

So for the rest of the night, I played around with my powers. It kinda helps keep my mind off of more depressing things. I tried practicing how to conjure fire and it was actually pretty easy. All I had to do was think about fire and concentrate it into my hand and POOF! It's there. After a few hours of trials and errors, I was finally able to create small fire balls the size of a baseballs and make them move around according to my will. I even made them dance around. It was a pretty fun trick.

I could also make the fire vanish when I wanted to at will. It took me awhile to perfected since I kept burning stuff around me and had to try and put them out with my jacket or stomp on it with my feet. If I'm going to create fire, at least I should know how to put them out without so much work out. That way, I don't have to ruin my poor jacket and shoes.

There's also another trick I managed to learn. I could make ribbons of fire in the air. It's kinda like making fire stretch out into lines or streams. I even mastered up to where I could make letters and images with it. Who needs paper when I could just use fire!

There're also some other tricks I learned, but I'll talk about them some other time. Don't want to brag about my abilities too much.

So basically, I practiced throughout the night until dawn. Strangely, I wasn't sleepy at all. Must be because I took such a long nap before that my body just stored up a lot of energy from it. Since it was morning, I thought about exploring the neighborhood. Who knows how long I have been gone, so I wanted to know what changed around here.

I flew towards downtown, with my lantern and all, and landed on a lamp post on the side of the street. I watched as car drove by, people walking down the sidewalks, and stores starting to open up. I definitely have to say that a lot of stuff changed over the course of time that I was gone.

Then I jumped onto the sidewalk and walked around. As I explored the new downtown, I suddenly hear some kind of weird music coming from a man in a suit. Then I saw the guy pull out a small flat looking black box that could fit in his hand nicely. What amazed me the most from this was he only _moved_ his finger on the surface before he placed it to his ear and said, "What's up, honey?"

WHAT THE HELL IS THIS!? What is that flat box!? A mobile phone? The last time I remember phones were much bigger than that and had BUTTONS!

I just stared in amazement at this new invention. I watched as the guy talked into the flat box for awhile until he removed the thing from his ear, touched the surface again, and then put it back into his coat pocket.

Then I noticed a group of kids nearby, sitting on the stairway to a building, and playing something. I was curious and had to take a look. And there I find myself blowing my mind. I swear I heard the angels singing with their holy lights shinning down upon us.

They were playing a game with TWO screens! With COLORS! Such SHARPNESS! Oh the beauty of the pictures! OH MY GOD! Are they using a _pen_ to play on the _screen_?!

"Hey! Someone give me some ammo! I'm out!"

"Here! I have a bunch of it."

"Thanks"

"There's enemy coming from the South! Someone cover me."

The kids were talking among each other as if they were playing in the same game and same battle... Wait a minute... ARE THEY CONNECTED!? Since when were games _connectable?!_ WHAT IS THIS MAGIC!?

Compared to my gameboy I had, these are god-blessed gifts from heaven! As I continued to watch the kids play their mind blowing games, I realize that I must've been gone for a very long time. Phones with no buttons and games with two screens. Did I just stepped into a scifi movie? Where's the _flying cars _they promised!?

I quickly went to find out what year I was in now and thank god, they still have newspaper! I almost thought they were going to become extinct and use something else that's more scifi-ish like those strange phone and game earlier. I found a pile of newspaper being sold outside a story and I quickly took a look at the date. And I discovered that I was gone for more than a decade!

I _so_ have a lot of catching up to do.

* * *

After a whole day of exploring the new world after a decade of my absence, I discovered many new extraordinary things that has been going on. I couldn't believe how much changed in just a decade! Don't even get me started about the movies! I sat through three movies straight!

I also discovered what it feels like to have someone walked through you. Not pleasant at all! I didn't see this woman since it was at a corner of a building and she was coming from a street perpendicular to mines. When I reached the corner... Woosh! She went right through me! It felt _weird_! It's kinda hard to describe how it felt. It's like my atoms were scattered and put together again. Ugh! I can say that I ain't gonna do that again.

Once it was getting dark, I rode the wind back to my neighborhood. I was enjoying the flight when I heard laughter from down below. I looked down and saw kids playing in the park. I quickly dived down and gently landed on the back of a black horse statue.

I watched the kids run around kicking a red ball, laughing and shouting at the same time. From what I can tell, they must be playing soccer, so I sat down and watched as the kids played their game.

One of the kids, a black hair boy, had the ball and was kicking it as he ran. Then another kid, which was a girl with dark skin and long braided black hair, shouted to him that she was open, so the ball was sent towards her. She caught the ball with her feet and continued to run and kick the ball in the same direction as the black hair boy. In the direction they were running towards was another boy, but with brown hair. The brown hair boy was standing there with his hands stretched out. He must be the goal keeper. On both side of him were two empty cans, which must be the goal. Then the dark skin girl kicked the ball with a lot of force that sent it flying through the goal. Then, some of the kids cheered while the rest made disappointed faces.

While the kids were either too busy with cheering or watching the cheering kids, the ball bounced towards the horse statue that I was sitting on. Out of reflex, I jumped down and grabbed the ball. While I held the ball in my hand, my prankster instinct kicked in. If anybody could see me now, they would probably see the evil grin on my face.

I drew something on the ball with my flames and threw it back to the boy who was the goal keeper. When the ball hit his leg, the boy looked down and made a confused look, but for only a second before he picked up the ball. That's when he looked horrified and screamed.

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" He threw the ball into the air immediately. What he saw on the ball was an evil face made of fire. Basically, I drew two evil eyes and a creepy grin with fire. I made it so that when the boy lift up the ball, he'll see the fiery face. And that's not all folks! The face can move and make an evil laugh, so now we have a laughing evil ball with flaming eyes and mouth. Cool, right?

The look of horror on his face was hilarious! I laughed so hard that I bent over, clutching my stomach in pain. Everybody else turned towards the boy in confusion.

"What happened, Kirt?" asked one of the kids.

"The ball! It was laughing!" gasped the frightened boy and he pointed at where the ball was.

All heads turned to where Kirt was pointing and stared at the ball.

"What are you talking about? Balls don't laugh," stated the dark skin girl. "It was probably your imagination," she said as she went to pick up the ball. "See! No face. No laughing. Just a normal red ball." Then she threw it towards a blond hair boy.

The kids started to laugh except for Kirt, who looked like he was starting to question what he saw. "But I really did see it! And heard it, too!"

Then the blond hair boy started to make a weird voice while moving the ball around the group of kids. "Hey kids! I'm the talking ball. Want to be friends?" The other kids laughed even more.

"Shut up, Christ!" yelled Kirt, turning a little red.

"Come on, you probably just _thought_ you saw something," suggested the blond kid called Christ. "Maybe it was your imagination."

"I'm serious!" Kirt retorted back, angrily.

"Stop it, Christ," ordered the dark skin girl with her fists on her hips. "What about you? Remember last Easter when you said you saw the Easter Bunny, but it turned out to be our teacher's runaway rabbit? You made us chase it for an hour!"

Then all the kids laughed again at this information. Even Kirt began to smile.

Christ started to blush. "Fine!"

"Well, whatever it was, it's fine now so let's get back to the game," proposed a short dark brown hair girl.

While the kids were going back to their places, Kirt went up to the dark skin girl.

"Thanks, Sam," Kirt said.

"No prob," replied Sam, with a bright smile.

Then the kids went back to their game. So for awhile as the kids were running around with the ball, I played a few more tricks on them like tapping on a girl's shoulder to make her stop and look around in confusion; Blowing into another boy's ear that got him to squeak and close his ears in surprise; Untying a girl's shoe, which made her trip; And tripping Christ with my lantern pole in which he rolled twice before landing on his back. He must've been running pretty fast to make two flips! All in all, no one was harm and the kids just laughed it off as their imagination or clumsiness.

Then, once the sky was getting dark, the kids began to go home. I headed back to the graveyard as well. Right now, it would be my temporary home until I can find a better place. Weird? Once you get used to the tiny sounds and spooky atmosphere, it's really not a bad place, but that's just me, being a spirit, talking.

And that's my first day after becoming a spirit.

* * *

Thank you for reading. Please comment or leave feedback or suggestions.

I have up to 11 chapters done already (story is not done yet), but needed proofreading and editing from my friends first. Until they're done with their part, they won't be posted just yet. So until next time.


	4. Chapter 2 Meeting the Guardian of Dreams

**Disclaimer: I do not own the ROTG universe or its original characters. This story is written within the ROTG universe. The rest of the characters belong to me.**

* * *

**Chapter 2: Meeting the Guardian of Dreams**

It has already been a couple of weeks since my rebirth as a spirit. I've been flying all over Virginia, exploring different towns. I would some times fly to nearby cities for fun. I also played a few tricks here and there, but they're harmless. Should've seen the face on this man when I blew up his dinner when he was cooking! Scared his pants right off of him! Don't worry. The fire didn't cause any harm. Only the fire alarm went off, but that's it.

And in the course of the time, my powers have started to become stronger. How do I know that?

I was sitting on a roof of some random house. It was dusk, so the sky still had some light left even though the sun was gone. I was watching these two kids running around their backyard, playing. Since there were lamps everywhere, there was no problem with the darkness.

The two kids were both boys and they were brothers. One was taller than the other, so there's no doubt that he's the older one of the two. The tall one was about ten years old while the other one, I was estimating six. Both had this reddish brown hair and green eyes.

The older boy was chasing the little one while roaring like a monster.

"Roar! I'm gonna getcha!" The older one roared playfully with his hands in the air.

"Aaah! You're not gonna get me!" laughed the little one.

I looked around the yard and noticed that there was a small sand box. There were a bunch of toys like a bucket, a small plastic shovel and rake, a toy truck, and a toy red T-rex in it. Parked next to the sandbox was a small tricycle.

I grinned evilly when I got an great idea to pull a prank, so I placed my hand close to my lantern and pulled out a few small flames. The small flames came flowing out from the fire in the lamp and turned into three small fireballs floating in the air. Now this was when things get more interesting. In each fireballs, I could make out two small tiny eyes and tiny mouth. The fireballs blinked and smiled. Then they started to bounce around in the air making sharp tiny noises that didn't make any sense.

"Alright! Alright, guys! Calm down," I told the small fireballs. The bouncing balls of flames froze immediately, but I could still hear them giggling quietly.

You can probably imagine my first time experiencing this. To suddenly have my fire making sounds and having a mind of their own, I literally jumped in shock and fell into a chimney. After that experience of being stuck in a chimney for an hour, I learned to be more careful when sitting on a chimney from then on.

I guess I was getting lonely and wanted to have someone to talk with when that happened. That must be why my flames began to have life of their own. After awhile, I got comfortable talking to them, even though I had no idea what they were talking about since their noises sounded so gibberish. But I learned to make out what they are trying to express from their actions and the tone of their noises. Also, like me, they love playing tricks as well, but they have a more childish personality. Kinda like a bunch of little kids.

I called them _Wisps_, because I remembered my grandma telling me stories of these ghostly fire from Scottish legends called _will-o'-the-wisp_. They were supposed to be spirits in a form of a fire that appear in swamps and marshes. They also exist in other folklores around the world as well like in Europe and Asia.

"See those toys over there?" I pointed to the toys in the sandbox.

The wisps turned to where I was pointing at. They nodded excitedly and made tiny noises that sound very much like "Uh huh."

"You know what to do." Once I said that, the tiny flames giggled like crazy and flew off towards the sand box. One of the wisps disappeared into the toy truck, another went into the tricycle, and the last one went into a bucket. Then the objects began to move. The truck drove out of the sand box, the bucket scooped up some sand, and the tricycle rolled off towards the kids.

The boys didn't notice at first, but when they heard giggles, they both stopped running and turned around. When they looked at where the sound came from, the giggles stopped. What they saw was a tricycle, but it just stood there. Not moving at all. Both boys looked at each other, confused.

Then they heard the giggling again and turned back. The tricycle was still there, but this time it was closer.

"Uh... David, was that you?" asked the youngest brother, hopefully.

"Nope," denied the older brother. Then he walked up to it and examined it. Nothing seemed wrong.

"David?" called the young brother.

"It's nothing, Max" assured David. "It's probably just the wind.

"Really?" Max asked again. Then he felt something hit his leg and he jumped in surprise. He looked down and saw his favorite toy truck. Now that was strange. He remembered that the last time he played with it, it was in the sand box.

"David," Max called his older brother again.

David could hear fear in his brother's voice, so he looked back. "What?"

"Uh..." Max wasn't sure what to say, so he just pointed at the toy truck. Both brothers stared.

First, nothing happened. It was just a normal toy truck. Then came the giggles.

_Hi hi hi hi hi_

The faces on the boys' faces went pale.

Then glowing yellow eyes and mouth appeared on the truck.

_Hi hi hi hi hi hi!_

"Aaaaaaahhhhhhhh!" Both boys screamed. They quickly ran for the kitchen door, but was stopped by the tricycle that appeared out of nowhere before them, blocking their path. Like the truck, the tricycle also had yellow eyes and mouth.

_Hi hi hi hi hi hi hi hi_

The truck and tricycle began to drive around the boys as if keeping them from escaping. Max began to hug his brother in fear while David wrapped his arms around his brother as well in protection.

"There gonna get us!" cried Max, terrified.

"No they aren't!" David retorted in anger. He quickly kicked the toy truck and sent it flying into the air. Then the tricycle came charging at him at full speed. David had already forgotten about his fear once he remembered that he had someone to protect, his little brother. He grabbed a baseball bat that was luckily nearby and swung with all his might at the tricycle.

BAM!

David sent the tricycle rolling on its side a few times before it lay upside down with the wheels pointing upward. His breath was hard and quick from all that excitement. He stared at the tricycle and the toy truck warily, but they were both motionless. No more creepy giggles and no more freaky glowing eyes and mouth.

When both boys seemed to relax a bit, believing that it was over, something came raining down upon their heads.

A rain of sand came falling from the sky and poured right onto David's and Max's head.

"Aaaaaahhhh!" Max screamed, trying to brush off the sand from his hair.

"Get inside!" David grabbed Max's hand and ran inside the house. The door slammed with a loud bang.

Then there were shouts and cries of the kids running to their mom and I could hear the mom's confused voice, wondering why her kids were covered in sand.

I, who was on the roof all this time watching them, laughed my eyes out. Now that was a great prank! The look of shock on their faces were epic! I also have to give points to the older brother for standing up to his fear to protect his little brother.

Once our little fun was done, the wisps returned to me in fits of giggles. They definitely enjoyed themselves even though two of the three got sent flying and are floating awkwardly like a couple of drunkards. Probably still dizzy from earlier, yet they were still laughing about it. They were spinning around and bumping into each other. And the more the two wisps were bumping into each other, the harder they were laughing. It's weird, but I also find it very funny.

"Hold yourself together now, guys," I told them. "Jokes over. It's time to get home."

The wisps made a disappointed 'aw' sound. Then they made more noises that sounded like they were pleading to play some more.

"Nope. It's almost bedtime for these kids, so there won't be anymore scaring until tomorrow," I explained. Every night, when the kids were getting ready for bed, it would be my time to go home. I don't have a curfew, but I do get tired from playing around and using my powers a lot, so I need my rest as well.

The wisps looked down in disappointed and made noises that sounded like they were complaining. I almost felt like a mom putting her kids to sleep and the kids were complaining that they don't want to. After they finished whinning, the wisps went into the lantern and went back into the flames.

I was about to head to the graveyard, when I heard the boys' voices from a window.

"I don't want to sleep, David. What if those things come back to get us?"

"Don't worry. I'll make sure they don't hurt you. See! I even have the bat with me."

The window was slightly open and there was a small light coming from inside. I looked into the window and saw the boys in their bunk beds. The little brother was on the top bed while the older one was at the bottom. I could make out a baseball bat underneath the pillow.

"I guess we overdid it this time," I thought out loud to myself. I felt kind of guilty for scaring them now. Maybe I really did went too far. I was thinking to myself of what to do to apologize when a light lit up over my head and I meant _literary_. Something really _did_ light up over my head. I looked up and saw one of my wisps.

"Hey, what are you doing out of your lantern?" I demanded with my hands on my waist, but in a playful manner.

The wisp made noises that I had no idea what it was saying, so it was time for guessing game time.

"So you wanna help?" I guessed.

_Uh huh_

"Alright," I agreed. "But what should we do?" I wondered. Then I noticed some candy wrappers in the trash bin and an essence candle on their dresser.

Ding!

I had an idea!

* * *

**~Boys' Side~**

In the boys' bedroom, the lights were already off. David had already fallen asleep, but Max, on the other hand, was still awake. He had his back facing outside the bed and his eyes staring at the wall. He was still shaken up from what happened this evening and hasn't been able to close his eyes. He _was_ a little sleepy, but his fear prevented him from falling asleep.

Suddenly, he heard something from behind and he jolted. It sounded like the window was being slowly opened. Max froze. Then he heard other small noises as well. Once curiosity got ahold of him, he slowly turned around to see what it was and saw that the essence candle their mother placed on the dresser was lit.

"David!" whispered Max, shaking. "David!"

The older brother woke up, confused. "What?"

"The candle! Look!" Max whispered again.

David looked at the dresser and saw the soft glow of the essence candle, which was giving out a nice sweet aroma of cinnamon spice and pumpkin. There was also something placed beside the candle as well, but David couldn't make out what it was. He got up and walked towards the dresser to find small pieces of chocolate blocks and a small piece of paper.

And on the paper was written... or more like burned on, was...

_Sorry_

* * *

**~Jack's POV~**

Once I put my little apology gift and note on the dresser next to the essence candle, which I had my wisps lit it up for me, I quickly left the room through the window and watched.

The boys definitely looked confused at the little gift on the table and the apology note.

"What does it say?" asked the younger brother, since he couldn't see the note from the top bunk bed.

"It says 'Sorry'," David reply.

"What does that mean?" Max asked again, confused.

I could tell that David was thinking hard, trying to figure out what the note meant. Finally, his face lit up a bit and said, "Maybe it's an apology from this evening. Maybe whatever scared us must feel bad and wanted to apologize."

"You mean whatever it was that made our toys move and made scary noises?" thought Max.

"I think so." David agreed.

"Well, whatever it was. I didn't like it at all," Max said angrily, his arms crossed. Though he tried to look pissed, his pouting face was too cute than intimidating.

"I think they realized that and that's why they are apologizing. They probably thought it would be funny to scare us," David speculated.

I have to admit that David was really sharp. He pretty much got my message across with only a note and a couple of candies.

"I don't think it was funny at all!" argued Max, he pouted even more.

Oh god! That cute angry face! Why does every time when little kids like him make an angry face like that, I would want to pull their cheeks?!

I stayed a little longer to watch them go to bed, no longer afraid. I felt relieved that I didn't end up with traumatizing the brothers with my pranks. I guess I need to be careful from now on since it won't be easy to apologize when they can't see or hear me.

As I watched the kids fall asleep, my wisp started to make a racket.

"Shhhh!" I hushed it. "Can't you see they're sleeping!"

Then I felt something blew passed me. The second I turned around, I had to jump backwards in surprise. It was sand! Golden, glowing, glittering, flowing-in-the-air-like-a-stream sand! It went into the boys' window and flow towards the bed. Then the sand split up into two streams and floated over each boys' head. Some of the sand also fell onto the boys' face and a figure appeared out of the golden sand.

Over Max's head was a figure of two boys, one taller than the other, running around as if they were playing. Something told me that it was supposed to be Max and David playing together.

Over David's head was a figure of a boy as well, but he was holding a bat. Then the figure swung it as a tiny ball of golden sand flew close and sent it flying somewhere. No doubt, baseball.

Are they dreaming?

Then I heard my wisp calling to me as if it was trying to tell me something in an urgent tone. I quickly turned around to see where the sand was coming from and saw a whole sky full of flowing golden sand! I was officially awestruck. Where the hell are they coming from!? All the stream of sand were flowing into other houses as well!

Sand? Dream? Something clicked in my head, but I wasn't a hundred percent sure. So when in doubt, go find the answer!

I flew into the air and in the direction where the sands were coming from. I was amaze at how many streams of sand there were. They were very beautiful and amazing. It was as if the whole sky was full of golden thread. Out of curiosity, I stopped to touch the sand to see what would happen. Suddenly, a school of fish made of golden sand came swimming out into the air as if they were underwater!

"Ah!"

_Ah!_

My wisp and I jumped in surprise. The fish just swam around us before swimming away and dispersing into thin air.

"Now that was _awesome_!" I cried in excitement.

With all the racket I made, my other wisps began to appear from my lantern. When they saw where we were, they all looked confused and curious. The wisp that was with me the whole time explained to them what was going on. Then they all chattered in excitement at their new discovery.

I touched another stream of sand again and a flock of birds appeared! The wisps flew after them as if they were playing chase with the golden birds. When those dispersed, I touched the sand again! I did this many times over and over. There were butterflies, kites, planes, paper cranes, and so many other things. While I did this, the wisps would be either chasing them or playing with it.

They went nuts when a small size train appeared! They were practically riding on it and making _choo! choo!_ sounds.

But when something that looked like a giant cat appeared, the wisps froze for a second before screaming and scattering everywhere like frightened mice. The giant cat even chased them and it made the wisps screamed even more before it dispersed.

I laughed so hard that I almost did a backflip in midair. It was a lot of fun making something appear out of the sand and watching my wisps play around with them. We were having so much fun that we almost forgot our original goal until I felt something tugging on my hood. I looked around and saw one of my wisps pulling my hood, trying to catch my attention.

"What?" I asked.

It made sharp gibberish sounds and pointed at something in the distance. I turned to look what it was pointing at and I noticed something as well. It was a tiny floating island made up of the golden sand with a small figure dancing on it.

"Is that who I think it," I whispered to myself. I flew a little closer to get a better look. My wisps noticed me flying off, so they quickly followed behind. As I got closer, I could make out a short man in golden clothes that looked like a mixture of a robe and a one piece PJ. His hair is spiked up and gold like his clothes and sand. There's no doubt about it.

He must be the Sandman!

He's actually real! He's really REALLY real! I felt excitement swell inside of me. I wanted to go say hi, but then this 'thought' stopped me. Can he see me or hear me? Since everybody else can't, so would that mean the Sandman as well?

I started to wonder if I should creep up to him quietly and see what happens. I don't want to go up to him and go "Hello! My name is Jack O. Lanternson" and not get a reply or reaction from him. It would be pretty awkward.

Out of reflex, I pulled up my hood to cover my glowing hair and flew up quietly from behind. The little golden man kept hopping around, not noticing my presence. With every flick of his hand, a stream of sand would flow out and stream into the air towards another direction.

I flew up so close that I was watching him from above. My wisps were also crowded around me, silent in anticipation. The little man had his back towards me and he was so into his work that he didn't notice me at all. Or maybe he just doesn't see me period.

I felt a little dread at the last thought. If the Sandman can't even see me, I would be really upset. I would roam the world with no one, both normal and mythical people, to talk to except my wisps.

But there was still hope. If he didn't notice me, maybe he can hear me, right? I grasped my lantern pole tightly and spoke almost in a whisper, "Uh... hello?"

The little golden man didn't react. He just kept hopping and making streams of sand.

I started to feel like my heart was falling into my stomach. I tried again. This time a little louder.

"Hello? Mr. Sandman, sir?"

This time, he stopped and looked around.

I thought my heart just shot back into my chest and exploded. He heard me! He really heard me!

My wisps began to make excited noises. That's when he turned around and saw us. He _stared_ at us.

I jumped back a little in surprise. He sees us? Just to make sure...

"Uh... Can you see us?" I asked, a little nervous.

The Sandman smiled and nodded.

I leaped into the air and did a back flip while I cried, "He sees me! He can really see me!" I was so thrilled! Someone can finally see me! I wasn't entirely alone in this world! My wisps were also bouncing around and making loud joyous noises.

The Sandman just stared at me, a little confused, I guess. Well, I was excited that he saw me, so I got a little carried away.

"Hi! My name's Jack O. Lanternson and these guys here are my wisps," I introduced myself and my little fire buddies as I pull down my hood so he can see my face better "You must be the Sandman, right?" I asked to make sure.

The little man nodded in confirmation.

"Oh my god! I can't believe the Sandman is real! I mean _you_... are real! My mom would tell me stories of how you would make dreams out of your sand!" I said in excitement. "So, are there others? Like you? Ya know, magical and everything," I asked hopefully.

The Sandman nodded again with a warm smile. Then there were figures appearing over his head. The figures were made up of his sand and turning into many forms. I made out a large man, a figure with wings, a rabbit, and a person with a long staff. That's when I realized something.

"Wait... you don't talk?" I asked without thinking. I think I might've been a little too straight forward.

The Sandman nodded with no offended look on his face.

"Oh..."

The Sandman stared at me as if he was examining me and my wisps carefully. It must be because of my glowing hair and eyes. Even I find them kinda weird sometimes. I guess I should've kept my hood up, but my glowing yellow eyes would still show anyways. He also seemed pretty fascinated at my wisps as well.

Then the little golden man made all these figures over his head with the sand again. I tried to make out what he was trying to say, but no luck. They were changing too fast! For a guy who can't talk, he sure has a lot to say.

"Uh, sorry Sandman, but I'm not catching ya. Can you talk... I mean make figures a little slower?"

The Sandman sighed, but understood. It's not easy communicating with images only anyways, so he made the figures again, this time slower. By this time, my wisps were gathered around the man, giggling excitedly as if they were going to play a game. I guess it _was_ kinda like a game. A guessing game, that is.

The first figure looked like a baby wrapped in a blanket.

"Uh... a... a baby!... No?... Infant?... Um...birth?... Born? Is that it?... So you're asking when I was born?"

The Sandman has his index finger and thumb close together as if saying I was close, so I thought a little more. My wisps weren't helping at all since they were making all that chatter, trying to guess the word as well.

"Maybe... new born? New? So am I new?"

The Sandman smiled and nodded that I was correct.

Oh wow, I guess spending my time with my wisps and guessing what they were trying to say all that time paid off.

"Am I new? Uh... I guess I am. I was only _reborn_ a few weeks ago. 'Been roaming this neighborhood since," I explained.

So we spent a good hour _communicating_. Most of the time was spent trying to figure out Sandman's words, which I started to get better at it. I just have to make connection to the last conversation we had and how they were relevant to each other.

A few of my wisps started to get bored and tried to burn some of Sandman's hair. I had to order them to behave. I'm feeling like a mother more and more when I do this. Though, it was tempting to see what would happen if his sandy gold hair was on fire, but I was in a serious conversation right now.

I learned that there were others like Sandman. Not exactly like him, but basically have magical and everything. There were the tooth fairy and the easter bunny. There was one I spent ten minutes figuring out, but only know that this guy controls ice and snow. When I got to the last one, I thought my hair would blow up into fireworks.

"Santa Claus?! He's REAL too?! Holy pumpkins!" I gasped in excitement. I can't believe Santa Claus was real! I stopped believing in him for years now, too!

Then our conversation had to stop when I notice my wisps were getting tired. They were yawning and they could barely keep their eyes open.

"Looks like I have to go now. My wisps look like they're going to go out pretty soon," I told the Sandman. I called my wisps to go back into the lantern to rest.

The Sandman nodded and pointed at his sands to say that he also needed to get back to work. I guess being the man who gives children dreams every night must be pretty busy, so I said good bye to the Sandman and flew off home.

And that's how I met the Guardian of Dreams.

* * *

Thank you for reading. Please comment or leave feedback or suggestions.

I'm going to try to do a weekly upload of this series as best as possible, but with school and real life stuff, it's going to be a little tough.


	5. Chapter 3 Guiding Light

**Disclaimer: I do not own the ROTG universe or its original characters. This story is written within the ROTG universe. The rest of the characters belong to me.**

* * *

**Chapter 3: Guiding Light**

**~Jack's POV~**

After meeting the Sandman that night, I started to visit him from time to time when all the children were asleep. There's not much to talk to him about since he's always working and doesn't talk at all. Yet, he'll always welcome my company whenever I visited. I even caught him sleeping on the job a few times, too. I guess working all night all over the world must be pretty exhausting. Of course, being the prankster that I am, I had to do something while he's snoozing.

Once, I drew on his face... with a marker of course. The wisps and I could barely hold our laughter when I drew on his eyelids to make it look like they were pupils and doodled flowers on his cheeks. Of course, Sandman wasn't too please. When he woke up to find us suffocating from trying to hold our laughter, he was totally confused and pulled out a mirror made of sand to check his face. He gave us a stern look when he found out what I did. Since then, he became very careful every time he's in town.

I don't always bother him when he's working, too. My wisps and I would sometimes play around with his golden sands, making something appear and play around with it.

Then one evening, I was chilling on a rooftop while the wisps played around in the air. I didn't know what to do at that time. We pulled a prank on a family during a picnic in the park this afternoon. The father was cooking paddies on a barbecue grill and I made the fire burst up, causing the father to scream and jump back in shock. Epic face!

Two of my wisps possessed a ketchup and mustard bottle, so when the kids tried to squeeze the sauce onto their hotdogs, they ended up squirting each other in the face! Good aim, Wisp #1 and Wisp #2!

I also took a few cupcakes without the family noticing, except for the mom, who thought that it was the kids that ate them. Even though I'm a spirit, we can still eat. It's not like I have the need to eat like when I was alive, but it does help with getting some energy to pull more pranks. God those cupcakes were good! Chocolate chip and ginger! Mmm, my favorite!

After the picnic was over, there really wasn't much to do, so that's why I'm here chilling on the rooftop of some random house I don't know.

While I was staring at the crimson sky, I heard people talking from down below. I usually would just mind my own business if it wasn't for the familiar voice I heard talking. I sat up and looked down below to check who it was. Walking on the sidewalk were two women pushing their strollers. Each stroller had a child in it. What caught my attention wasn't the children playing with each other, but the mothers. Because one of them was my mom.

"Just last week, he brought home a frog! It scared the living daylights out of me!" complained one of the women that wasn't my mom.

My mom laughed. "Well, at least your son came home. My daughter keeps wandering off somewhere when I take my eyes off of her for a second," told my mom. "I'm even considering of putting a GPS on her."

"Why don't you just make her wear those squeaky shoes? That way you would know when she wanders off," suggested the woman.

"I did try that, but Abigail here always takes them off. She hates those shoes for some reason," explained my mom, sighing.

"Maybe you should put a leash on her," the woman joked.

"I wished she wasn't so curious. Her curiosity scares me sometimes. I don't want to lose her like... you know. I finally was able to move on. She's everything to me. I can't go through that again," then my mom trailed off into silence.

I couldn't see what her face looked like since I was too far away, but I could tell she must be feeling very sad. The woman she was talking to must've sense my mom's dark mood too, because she immediately changed the conversation.

"Well! Did you know that Lin is throwing a dinner party in two weeks? I heard they'll bring in a real professional bartender," told the woman, trying to cheer my mom up.

"Oh really? Are you planning to go?" My mom asked. Her mood changed immediately.

Then they began to chatter in their new topic and walked further away to which I couldn't hear them anymore. I watched them in silence as they disappeared into a corner of a street. So much emotions were running wild inside of me. Sadness. Longing. Guilt. Envy.

My dark mood must've been obvious since even the wisps went silent and watched me, worriedly.

One wisp flew up to me and made noises that sounded like it was worried.

"I'm fine," I told them. "I just need some time to think."

The wisps just look at each worriedly. They didn't make anymore noise, but instead they all cuddled together on each of my side, comforting me. I was a little surprise by this, but I also felt warm inside and I meant emotionally. Yet, I do wonder how I'm not getting burned by them since they're made of nothing but fire. Oh well. By this time, what's logic?

It was already night time and I was with Sandman again. Instead of my usual playing around or pulling a prank on him, I just sat on his little floating island of sand with my legs dangling on the side and my lantern lying next to me. I would just watch my wisps play around with the sand figures in a daze. From time to time, I would start thinking about my mom. I really missed her and I wished I could go back. While I was sinking into depression, I felt something touched my shoulder gently. I turned around and saw that it was the Sandman.

He looked at me worriedly. Sand figures began to form over his head, but I didn't need to look at those figures to know that he was wondering why I was so mopey today.

"It's nothing serious," I told him. "It's just about my mom."

Then suddenly I felt the sand I was sitting on shifted and lifted me up. The next thing I knew, I found myself sitting on a chaise lounge, or those couch that therapist would have. The Sandman was also sitting on a chair made up of his golden sand with a tall back rest with a clipboard and a gold pen in hand.

"Uh... What's this for?" I asked, confused. Is he giving me a therapy?

Then Dr. Sandman pointed his gold pen at me as if to say for me to start talking with a serious face. So now it's interrogation?

I wasn't sure how to start, so the first thing that came to mind was my mom's face. "Well... I guess it's about my mom. I really miss her, you know? After I died more than a decade ago, my parents were probably devastated. I feel really guilty about it, but I don't know what to do."

Dr. Sandman nodded while scribbling something down on his clipboard. A wisp flew up to him and wondered what he was doing. Then Dr. Sandman noticed it and suddenly whipped out a piece of paper and pen out of thin air and gave it to the wisp. He motioned the wisp to help jot down notes as well and the wisp nodded in agreement, so it started to scribble like crazy on the paper.

"I wished that they could see me and that I could tell them that I'm alright. That I'm fine! I feel guilty for making them go through so much after my death. But, at the same time, I envied that new child that came into their life. I guess I should say that she's my sister, but I just have a hard time accepting it."

Another one of the wisps flew up to Dr. Sandman with a gold mug on it's head, which he took it and took a slurp.

"She just came out of nowhere and took my place and my family. I definitely didn't want my parents to be sad because of me, but I didn't want to be replace just like that! I know I shouldn't be thinking like this, but I just can't help it! I used to be the only child and my parents would always look after me, but now I have nothing at all!"

I crossed my arms, feeling my anger was starting to boil. I could feel my eyes burning and tears trying to spill out, but I did my best to keep them in. It would be embarrassing for a guy like me to cry, so I rolled onto my side where the Sandman can't see my face. I just wanted to be left alone until I can control my emotions. Then I felt a light touch on my shoulder and turned around slightly.

The Sandman gave me an understanding smile and patted me on the shoulder as if he was trying to tell me to calm down. Then he motioned me to sit up like he wanted to explain something, so I turned around and sat up.

He made figures with his sand and body motions to explain what he wanted to say. I'll just summarize what he was saying so I don't spend so much time trying to describe the figures and the amount of time it took me to guess right.

Basically, he told me that just because my parents have a new child, that doesn't mean they forgot me or no longer love me. He also said that I should be glad that my new little sister was there to help my parents cope with my death. Just because I'm gone from their life doesn't mean I'm gone from their hearts.

After Sandman told me this, I felt a little better. I knew he was right, so I didn't feel depress anymore. It's almost like something heavy in my chest was gone.

"Thanks, _Sandy_. Is it alright if I call you that?" I asked just in case. For me, I thought _Sandy_ sounded better than _Sandman. _Sandman sounded more like a title than a name.

Sandy nodded that it was fine.

"You're awesome, you know that?" I complimented, smiling sincerely.

Sandy smiled warmly in return.

* * *

After Sandy's therapy session, I left with a lighter heart. Sandy has been a great friend and an awesome person to talk to, even if he doesn't talk at all. My wisps were exhausted from all their fun today, so they were now resting peacefully in the lantern. They've become more and more comfortable with Sandy, so that's a good thing.

On the way to the graveyard, I had a change of mind and decided to check my old house first. I felt like checking up on my parents. When I got there, I gently landed next to the window of the living room. There I saw my parents and, I might as well finally accept it, my little sister. Abigail, I believe that's her name.

My dad was playing with Abby, which I decided to call her for short. He was pretending to be some kind of monster and roared playfully while Abby laughed and screamed at the same time. My dad was on both his hands and knees, chasing her.

My dad was a very tall man and had this very powerful presence, but when he's usually with my mom or me, he would become more gentle and sometimes playful. He had light brown hair in some army style cut with some white hair on the side and sharp hazel eyes. I could see wrinkles at the corner of his eyes and cheeks. I guess his age was appearing after more after so long.

My sister also had light brown hair but slightly long, which I mentioned before. Her eyes were grassy green with sparkle of laughter in it. I don't know her exact age, but I can only guess maybe around two or three. Maybe the next time they celebrate her birthday, I would find out.

"Roar! Come back here you tasty prey!" My dad said in a deep voice while crawling after my sister.

"Ha ha ha! Aaaaah! No!" Abby screamed in glee, not fear.

They ran and crawled around the sofa a couple of times.

"I'm hungry so let me eat you!"

"No!"

"Just a nibble on the leg?"

"No!"

"Pleeeeeeeease?"

"Nooooooo!"

While the two were play around, I spotted my mom coming into the room from the hallway.

"Honey, it's _way_ passed her bed time. She needs to sleep now," my mom told my father.

I have to admit, my mom was a beautiful woman, even now she still has that glowing presence. She still had a perfect slim body even after having two kids. Even my friends, back in the days I was still alive, used to say she was hot. I had to punched them each behind their heads to make them shut up. My mom had long wavy red-orange hair that goes down to her shoulder, which was where I got my hair from, but I could make out some white hair as well. Her eyes were green, but unlike Abby's, hers was lime green. There were also wrinkles at the corner of her eyes like my dad's. I guess it comes with getting old.

"Aw!" whined Abby.

"Come now, sweetheart. It's bedy time," my dad told Abby as he picked her up into his arms.

"No sweep," Abby continued to complain.

"No complaining, Abigail," my mom told her a little sternly. "It's already very late. Don't you want to wake up early and play instead?"

Abby just made a pouting face with her arms crossed like she wasn't satisfied. Seeing her like that, I started to think that she was kinda cute.

My dad gave Abby to mom so she can put my sister to bed. She walked up the stairs and into Abby's bedroom, which used to be mines.

While I was now sitting outside the window of the room, I watched my mom tucked the little toddler into her crib while singing the same lullaby she always sang to me when I was little. Now, she'll be singing to Abby.

_The sun has set_

_The moon has rise_

_The stars are shinning_

_Blessing you with a good night's dream_

_So sleep my child_

_For you'll be safe_

_I'll always be here_

_To sing you this lullaby_

Thanks to the window that was opened slightly, I could hear her voice clearly. I listened to my mom's warm tone as she sang. It was so nostalgic.

Once Abby was fast asleep, my mother turned off the lights and walked out of the room while closing the door behind her, gently. I took it as a sign that it was time for me to leave, so I rode the wind home to the graveyard, the lullaby still playing in my mind.

* * *

**~Mom's POV~**

Once I tucked my little daughter in her bed and turned off the lights, I came down to the living room, where my husband was waiting. We both sat down on the sofa, trying to enjoy each others company after a long day. I tuned out the sound of the obnoxious television as my husband switched channels. It had been years since we had a child to become the center of our lives again. I was stuck between happiness and sorrow whenever Abigail came to me to show one of her drawings or a colorful leaf she found. She didn't have her brother's eyes or hair, but both of them had the same expression of happiness. She often came back from school with mud covered all over her new overalls or dresses. She can be a handful sometimes, but I still loved her dearly. At times, I watched Abigail's schoolmates walk to school with their older siblings from the elementary school next door. It made me think with regret of how different things would be if Jack was here to walk his sister to school.

"He would've love Abigail so much," I said out loud without realizing. I rested my head on my husband's shoulder, feeling slightly tired.

"Of course, he would," my husband agreed in a warm voice. "He would've been a great older brother."

"I missed him so much," I began to cry like every time I remembered my dear son. Why did he have to go so soon? I always asked that question, but nobody could ever answer that for me.

"I do too, love," whispered my husband and he lightly kiss my forehead, gently comforting me from my broken heart.

If only Jack was here...

* * *

**~Jack's POV~**

Several days has passed and I was still pulling tricks as usual. It's probably the only entertainment I had around here. When I'm not playing tricks on people, I would just chill on some roof or tree, watching the things go on around me.

And it just so happened that I was taking a nap on the roof of my parents' house. I do come by my house from time to time now. I don't feel depress about this place anymore, so I would come and watch my family.

During the time I'm usually here, I discovered that my little sister loves to wander off and was curious about everything. My parents had a lot of work on them with just her.

Today, I was lying on the roof, enjoying the evening breeze, when I heard my mom's voice.

"Abigail! Abigail!" My mom called my little sister, but no reply came. Not even her figure was seen. "Abigail! Sweatheart! Where are you?" I could see the panic on my mom's face.

I also looked around hoping to see her hiding somewhere, but there was no sign of her. I swore she was still in her room when I was still awake before. Then I spotted the gate of the backyard slightly open.

Oh no... My mom must've accidentally left the gate open! That gate was always hard to close completely. If we weren't careful, the gate sometimes wouldn't get latched in.

I quickly flew off, looking for little Abby. I also had the wisps helped out.

"Find Abby!" I told them. The wisps salute and darted off in every direction.

I searched the whole neighborhood and the park. Any places that Abby could wander off too. It took us about half an hour when some of my wisps came flying towards me.

"Did you guys find her?" Hope in my voice.

They blabbered excitedly and nodded.

"Show me the way!"

Then we flew off quickly. I followed the wisps as they guided me to the forest. How Abby wandered into the forest was a mystery. It was pretty far off from home and the roads here were very confusing that you have to be pretty lucky to come upon it by accident.

The wisps lead me through the trees, darting left and right to prevent face smacking into the hardwood. Then I could hear crying in the distance. I flew faster.

Once we reached our destination, I stared in surprise at where we were. We were at the collapse entrance of an abandoned mine. The place where I died.

The small grave was still there in front of the pile of rocks. The candles were completely melted and flowers were all dried up. I haven't been here since I was reborn that many nights ago. I didn't feel like coming to a place that reminded me of how I died, so I never really saw any reason to visit it.

And my sister was sitting there crying, lost and scared.

"Waaaaaaah! Mommy! Waaaaah!" Streams of tears ran down her cheeks and her nose was red and runny.

I don't know how or why she's here, but I really didn't care at this point. I quickly flew down to her, worried sick.

"Come on, Abby. Don't cry," I begged, but she didn't stop. I forgot for a moment that she can't hear me. "Uh guys, any ideas?" I asked my wisps.

They all gave me confused looks. They also didn't know what to do either.

"Waaaaaaah!" Abby continued to cry her eyes out.

"What should I do? What should I do?..." I kept panicking and repeated my question.

My wisps also panicked when I panicked. They were blabbering at each in confusion and bouncing everywhere.

Suddenly, I noticed something was off. The crying had stopped.

I turned towards my sister and found something shocking. She was _staring_ at the wisps in awe.

My wisps didn't even notice that Abby had already stopped crying. They were still bouncing around and crying in panic.

"Guys! Freeze!" I ordered them.

They froze and went completely silent. They stared at me in confusion and I pointed at my sister, who was still staring at them. The wisps looked at me and then at the little girl and then at me again.

Can she see them? To make sure my hunch was right, I told the wisps to move to the right. They did and Abby turned her head with them. I told them to move to the left. They did as told and Abby also turned as they moved.

"Holy Pumpkins! They can see you guys!" I gasped in shock.

The wisps mistook my shock as a bad thing and began crying in panic again and flew around like crazy.

_Aaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!_

"No, guys! Quiet! It's not a bad thing!" I tried to calm them down.

"Oooooooooo! Pwetty wights," my sister exclaimed and chased them.

That didn't help at all and my wisps went into a frenzy of panic and flew everywhere, away from my sister.

_AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!_

"Pwetty!"

"Guys! Calm down!" I tried to calm them down, but they kept running around in circles. My sister was running after them while my poor freaked out wisps were flying away from her, screaming.

_AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!_

"Pway!"

"Stop running!" I shouted again. Oh lord! Nothing was working! They were all over the place!

_AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!_

"Wheeeeee!"

"STOP!"

I yelled at the top of my lungs. Everyone froze, except for my sister, who can't hear me. Luckily, the wisps froze a few feet in the air, so my sister couldn't reach them. She just jumped up and down in laughter, trying to catch them.

"Hi hi hi hi hi!" She giggled.

"Okay, Wisps! Here's the plan," which I just came up just that second. "Since she can see you guys, get her to follow you back home to my parents. Got it?"

The wisps nodded in understanding.

"Hauwh..." Suddenly, my sister yawned and her eyes began to close, looking tired. All that running must've tired her out.

"Oh no no no no no! Don't sleep!" I pleaded. Why can't she hear me!?

She sat down.

"No! Don't! Guys! Do something to keep her awake!" I told the wisps quickly.

Flop! She lied down and slept.

"Oh candy corn..." Great! Now how are we supposed to get her home? I can't touch her, so there's no way I can carry her. My wisps definitely can't either. "Ugh! Time for plan B."

The wisps stared at me, wondering what my next plan was.

I thought for a while. Now that my sister was fast asleep, she won't be waking up any time soon and it was getting dark. If I can't get her to go home, then I have to find someone else to get her.

"I have an idea," I announced. "But it won't be easy since this will take some trust from _them_."

* * *

**~Mom's POV~**

"Abigail!"

"Abigail! Sweetheart!"

I remembered checking on Abigail a few hours after she fell asleep. When I came back from talking to her father, her room was wrecked with her stuffed animals scattered everywhere. Blankets and pillows were twisted and messed with drench of what looked like ashes. I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. I heard my husband's footsteps climb up the stairs.

"Don't worry. We'll find her," When my husband said that to me, I realized that I was still gaping at Abigail's empty cotton candy pink fairy sheets. I felt the warm tears splash down my cheeks while my husband tried to comfort me while searching through Abby's room. He lifted her big teddy bear to see if she was hiding underneath it. I silently scanned through every inch of the room where I thought she could have hid.

"Abby," I softly called out. I poked my head into her closet crammed with all her clothes. "It's too late to play hide and seek, honey. Abigail?" I opened the laundry basket. It was her favorite hiding spot. My baby was out of sight.

"Where's Abby?" My husband attempted to increase the pitch of his voice as if he was still playing games with Abby.

"Check the house," I said quietly. He nodded. We spent the next hour searching through every part of the house. Abby wasn't at any of her usual hiding spots. No three year old could hide for so long. It soon became clear that our daughter wasn't in our house.

"Abby!" I watched him run out to the streets. My husband and I were calling out to our daughter while searching the streets desperately, hoping to find any signs of her.

"What should we do? She can be anywhere!" I cried in fear for my daughter's safety. I could feel dread running into my heart. My husband took out his cell phone. I knew he was dialing one of the neighbor's phone, and possibly his mother who lived a few blocks from here. We searched her preschool, the park, and the playground, but she wasn't there. The police came by to aid us in the search, but their luck was just as good as ours.

"Oh my god! What if it's happening again?! What if we lose her like we lost Jack!" I remembered the same feeling I had when I found out that my son was killed in the abandoned mine those years ago. The shock and denial numbed into my mind and when the information finally sank in, I felt as if my whole world just disappeared before me. I clutched my night gown tightly from being blown by the chilly wind. I gazed at the black pitch sky. It looked like the night when Jack went missing.

"No! Honey! Listen to me!" My husband grasped my shoulder firmly. I stared into his eyes and I could see my own frightened reflection in them. "She's fine. She's just lost, that's all. We'll find her."

"How can you be so sure?" I whimpered.

"Please, Honey! Calm down..." My husband barely finished his sentence when he seemed to trail off and stared at something behind me.

"What's the matter?" I asked in confusion at my husband's sudden change in expression. I turned to where he was staring at and I saw why.

We both stared in shock at a floating orb of fire, bobbing several feet away.

"What the hell is that?" whispered my husband in shock.

The fire orb started to bounce around as if urging us to come towards it. For some reason, I felt like something inside of me was telling me to go. It was as if the fire orb was calling to me. I was about to pull away from my husband, when he quickly pulled me back.

"What are you doing?" he demanded.

"I don't know why, but I feel like it's calling me. I have this feeling as if it might know where Abigail is," I tried to explain.

"What!? We don't even know what it is! It could be tricking us!" he argued, suspicious of the floating orb of fire.

"Please! I don't know the reason why, but I feel like I can trust it," I begged my husband.

The husband stared into my eyes as I tried to plead with him. He was silent for awhile, thinking, and he finally gave in after a long pause. "Fine, but if something happens, we stop following it immediately, okay?"

"Of course," I agreed.

So we both ran up towards the flaming orb. When we got closer, it disappeared. We looked everywhere and that's when we spotted a small pink shoe on the ground.

"It's Abigail's!" I cried in shock.

My husband and I looked around again, hoping to see our daughter. Instead, we saw another orb of fire floating at another street.

"Over there!" He pointed.

We followed the orb as it flew down the streets, turning corners, and then arriving in front of the forest. Both my husband and I looked at each other in shock, wondering if our precious daughter was in this dark forest. The sky was getting very dark and hard to see, but luckily, we had flashlights with us. The light from the orb shone brightly in the dark forest, so it wasn't hard for us to follow it through the trees. We turned on our flashlights and continued to follow it for a long time until we finally reached an opening in the forest. By this time, the orb was gone. We quickly flashed our light everywhere, searching for our daughter and calling her name.

Then my husband's light came upon our daughter's sleeping body on the ground.

"Abigail!" Both of us cried out and ran towards her. My husband quickly scooped up Abigail into his arms while I kneeled in front of them.

"Abby, are you alright, sweetheart?" He placed his hands on her face and arms, searching for any injuries. Luckily, there was none.

Then Abigail opened her eyes slightly, half awake and half asleep. "Daddy?"

"I'm here, sweetheart," said my husband, relieved to see that our daughter was fine. I was finally able to breathe easier as well.

"Oh my god! You're so cold! Let's hurry and get home so we can warm you up," I touched her alarmingly cold hands. I hurried when I felt my daughter low body temperature.

"Where pwetty wights?" Abby asked before she went back to sleep in her father's arms.

"Lights?" My husband repeated our daughter's words and looked around. I also looked as well. Where did the orb go?

Then I waved my flashlight around and the light landed on a small gravestone.

"Oh my lord!" I gasped in complete shock.

My husband turned to look at what I was shock at and he too was staring with wide eyes. We finally realized that we were in front of the collapsed entrance of the mine that our son died many years ago. The gravestone was proof that this was where he now lies. My husband and I looked at each other as if the same thought came into their minds.

"Do you think..." My voice trailed off. I couldn't form a proper thought. A cluster of assumptions and conclusions crammed in my mind.

"Who knows, but I also have this feeling that it might be who we think it is," replied my husband. He looked worn out and looked at Abigail. "Let's go home."

I bit my lip. "Yeah."

He got up with Abigail, who was still sleeping in his arms. We walked back towards the neighborhood. I looked up at the gravestone again and wondered if it was really _him_.

* * *

**~Jack's POV~**

I watched from afar as they left for their home. I was glad they followed the wisp into the forest and found Abby. I was really nervous when my parents were staring at the floating orb of fire in shock. But when they decided to follow, I felt relieved.

"Good work," I complimented the wisp that lead my parents to Abby.

The wisp made happy noises. It was very proud of itself for completing its mission.

Now that _that_ was over. I have this question that has been bothering me since Abby chased the wisps.

Why can people see the _wisps_, but not _me_?! There's seriously something very unfair about this. Maybe later, I'll go find Sandy and ask him if he had any ideas. But right now he supposed to be somewhere in Asia, making dreams for children there. I'll just have to wait until he visits again.

For now, I'll just watch over my family... and pull some more pranks in the meantime.

* * *

Thank you for reading. Please comment or leave feedback or suggestions.

The therapy session was my friend's idea, so I incorporated into the story because I thought it would be kinda funny. She also helped a bit with writing the _Mom's POV_, so many thanks for her help.


	6. Chapter 4 Making Fall & Halloween Scare

**Disclaimer: I do not own the ROTG universe or its original characters. This story is written within the ROTG universe. The rest of the characters belong to me.**

**I currently have a bunch of projects from DeviantArt and from school right now, so I will stop writing fanfic for about a month. No worries readers, I'll still post the chapters every week. You guys are fortunate that I already finished writing 8 chapters and 5 of them just needed to go through the editing process. So I'll be taking a break from writing this story and try to get my work done first. If I manage the time well enough, I should be able to finish everything sooner and continue with this story.**

**I also got my Rise of the Guardians DVD on Tuesday and watched it while taking notes of stuff from the movie that I needed to write in my fanfic. I forgot quite a lot of stuff too, so it was a good thing I watched it again. Even after watching the movie several times at the theatre, I was still able to laugh at the same scenes that I thought were hilarious.**

**Okay, enough with my rabbling. Enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

**Chapter 4: Making Fall and Halloween Scare**

The air was getting colder and colder by the day and night was getting longer. I guess it was that time of season when the leaves should be falling before winter, Fall. But strangely, I didn't see any red or orange leaves. All the trees were still green even though they should be changing colors by now. Fall should have red and orange leaves that look like the trees were on fire. That's what make Fall so beautiful. I remembered my friend Philip told me that in Japanese, Fall was written with the letter 'fire' and 'tree' in it. Interesting, right?

Also, I could feel my powers getting stronger and stronger by the day. It was like I had this large amount of energy burning inside of me and it wants to get out. It was increasing by the day and I've been having a hard time controlling it at times. I even had this one time where I accidently blew up a car's engine when I only wanted to mess around with it. The hood was blow right off and a whole lot of smoke was coming out of the engine! Luckily, the driver wasn't injured, but he looked really freaked out. I hope he had insurance for that car.

Then there was another time when I only sneezed and caused a whole tree to catch on fire! It was only a light sneeze too! I seriously need to get my powers under control before I burn a house without realizing it!

There was also another problem besides my powers going crazy as well. I don't know why, but I had this very annoying feeling inside my head. It was like I had these buzzing noise and the urge to do something, but I don't know what it meant and it was driving me crazy!

I was strolling in the forest to relax my mind and not accidently blow something up. I watched some of the trees that hasn't change color according to the season yet. While I observed the leaves that should have changed colors by now, I kept feeling that something wasn't right. I also kept hearing these buzzing in side my head. Something was nagging at the back of my mind.

"Aaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrgh! It's driving me nuts! What do you want me to do?" I cried out in frustration. My powers blew up around me, but fortunately, it wasn't enough to cause any forest fire. I almost pulled some hair out in the process too. I've been carefully releasing my powers, but the nagging feeling wouldn't go away.

My wisps must've heard my cry, because they flew out of their lantern and made worried noises that sounded like they were asking if I was alright or if something was wrong.

"Ugh! It's this feeling in my head that won't go away. It's freakin' annoying!" I continued to complain. Eventually, out of exhaustion from enduring the annoying feeling for so long, I sat down to the closest tree to rest. I just wanted to take a nap and get this annoying nagging out of my head, so I leaned back on the tree and closed my eyes.

Then my wisps started to make loud chatters. What in the world got into them?

"Would you guys please be quiet? I'm trying to... Ow!" I was trying to get my wisps to be quiet when one of them pulled my hair. Already being in the bad mood as I was, pulling my hair just made it worse. "What the HECK is wrong with you... guys...?" Though, I burst out at first, I trailed off at the end when I stared upward. What I was staring at was the leaves. They were red and orange!

I don't remember seeing that color before. Now what just happened? One minute they were green, now they were red and orange. Did someone sprayed the leaves while I wasn't looking?

My wisps began to babble excitedly. They pushed and pulled me to another tree.

"Wait! What are you guys doing?" I asked in confusion. I really had no idea what they were thinking.

They just flew towards a tree and urged me to come closer.

"Are you guys telling me to touch it?" I asked. Well, that's what I'm getting from their behavior.

_Uh huh! _They all nodded.

So I placed my hands on the tree lightly, not sure what to expect. Then I saw the spot on the tree where I touched began to glow orange and then disappeared into the tree trunk as if it was being absorbed. I walked back a few steps and looked up at the tree.

Before my eyes, the leaves began to change color. It was as if the red and orange was burning into the green of the leaves. It wasn't on fire or anything, but that was what it looked like to me.

"Oh my god!" I whispered to myself. Then I ran to another tree to try it again. The same thing happened! I tried again on a couple more trees and the same thing happened also! I got really excited with my new discovered ability and changed all the trees in the forest red and orange. It looked almost like the whole forest was on fire. I even flew to the top of the trees to take a closer look and watch them change color. I saw small specks of flames flying off from the leaves that were changing color, which I didn't notice from the ground. It really _did_ look like the leaves were on fire.

I watched from the sky as the whole forest changed color and small specks of light floated into the air. I seriously got to try doing this at night! It would be stunning to watch all this light in the night sky.

The nagging feeling in my head was also slowly disappearing and I think I know why. I was supposed to change the season. Well, more like change the trees to fit Fall. I guess it was almost like some natural instinct that I had to do. Was this part of me becoming a spirit? Have I become the Spirit of Fall or something? I control fire and I can change one fourth of the seasons. This was going to get pretty awesome!

* * *

One night, I flew around town, changing the colors of the leaves of every tree. I didn't want people to notice the sudden change of the leaves or people would be calling the paranormal department, so I chose a time when people were asleep. The astonishing scenery of the changing color burned into the leaves was amazing. It was also a lot of fun.

After many experiments and attempts, I can now change the leaves' color without having to touch them. All I had to do was concentrate on my powers to spread around me as much as possible while flying, so when I flew pass the trees within half a mile radius, their leaves would change color immediately.

So in just one night, I was able to change the colors of all the trees in Blacksburg and a few other cities nearby according how Fall should look like. People even noticed the beautiful scenery in the morning since they haven't seen such a beautiful fiery scenery like this in a long time. They even thought it was magical. They were pretty much right about that!

Kids would be running around chasing the leaves or jumping into the pile of leaves, laughing excitedly. Even though I also loved to jump in a pile of leaves when I was a kid, I was still surprise at how they were all having this much fun with only the leaves changing colors.

Now with the trees in its right color for the season, I can say without a doubt that Fall was officially here!

And when I think of Fall, I think of my favorite day of the year, Halloween!

It's the day where kids would dress up in whatever they imagine themselves to be and get free candies from houses. Not to mention, it's the best time of year to play tricks and almost not get in trouble for it. Almost...

Halloween was getting closer and closer with each passing day. I could already make out houses decorating for the season. Fake webs were hanged at the front doors and balconies. White cloths were cut to look like ghosts. Pumpkins were carved to make Jack O'Lantern.

Hmm... I always wondered why my name sounded so similar to these pumpkins. My friends used to make fun of me for that. I wondered if the moon chose me because of my name. That can't be right either. It would be pretty stupid to pick people based off their names, so why did the moon choose me? I never figured out why.

So my days went by with my wisps and I pulling some new pranks. My wisps possessed some of the pumpkins on a brick garden wall and waited for someone to appear. When someone walked by, the possessed pumpkins would roll off as if they were knocked over. Out of instinct, the people would have to pick them up, but the problem was trying to catch the run away pumpkins first. My wisps made sure it wasn't easy. They were rolling all over the place, making it hard to gather them. Some of the people were a little surprise, but they still managed to gather the pumpkins again half an hour. A few had to even pounce on them. There were also quite a lot of bystanders who would just stand there watching and laughing at the failed attempts to catch the runaway pumpkins. A few passersby did try to help out and had to go through the crazy chases as well. But none seemed to realize at all that the pumpkins were rolling way so much that it was unnaturally.

Another prank was putting out the fire from the Jack O'Lanterns. A mother and a daughter were lighting the candles in the pumpkins and I would make the lights go out with a flick of my fingers. So while they were relighting one of the pumpkins, I would put out another. I kept at it for a while and the mother and daughter were starting to wonder what was up with the candles. The daughter was laughing after awhile as she watched her mother's flustered face at trying to relit every pumpkin over and over. After ten minutes, she gave up and told her daughter that she'll be buying new candles to replace these stubborn ones tomorrow.

Then there was also the time when this man was raking his yard. He would make a huge pile of leaves and when he's done, I would fly by and cause the leaves to scatter everywhere again. This made the man really frustrated and he would cursed the wind like crazy since it took him almost an hour to rake every leaf. When he raked them all again, I would make them scatter again. I kept doing this a few time and finally, the man threw the rake onto the ground and jumped up and down in rage before he walked back into his house. Even though I felt a _little_ bad for him, I just couldn't stop laughing at his rage dance. The guy looked like he was spewing smoke out of his ear.

And those were some of the pranks I did before Halloween arrived.

On the night before Halloween, Sandy was in town, so I visited him. I told him everything that happened while he was gone. Naturally, when I told him about the pranks I pulled with the people, Sandy just gave me this 'of course you would do that' look.

When I told him about how I saved my sister, Sandy gave me a warm grin and patted me on the back as if saying I did a great job. He must've been proud of me for finally getting over my jealousy. I also asked him why can my sister and my parents see the wisps, but not me. With his sand figures, he explained that my powers were probably getting stronger. Since my wisps were made from my magical fire, people can see them sometimes, but not always. It depended on how open minded each person was and how much magic I put into the wisps. He also explained to me that my wisps were born from my magic and rely on my magic to exist, so if something were to happened to me or my powers, it will effect my wisps.

That explanation got me worried. I really don't want anything to happened to my wisps since they've become so important to me.

After that topic, I told him about how I've been having this weird feeling as if I have this burning energy accumulating inside of me, ready to burst out. So when I discovered I was able to change the colors of the leaves from green to red and orange, creating Fall, I felt some of the energy was released in the process. This got Sandy thinking hard. He had to think for awhile before he could come up with the best explanation possible for me. He said that he knew this person who can control snow and ice, creating snow days and blizzards. He was also known to be bringer of Winter, so it was possible I have the power to bring Fall. So during this season, my powers would increase and be at its most powerful, but once Fall was over, my power should go back to its normal state.

I can't remember if I ever said this, but for a guy who can't talk, he sure has a lot of stuff to talk about. Now I have a little more understanding of my powers. I guess Sandy was the best person I can rely on when I needed someone to talk to. I'm glad I met him when I was reborn into this world. He was like an uncle I can depend on and feel at ease with.

So after our conversation that felt like a lecture on my powers, I spent the rest of the time watching Sandy create streams of golden dream sand and play around with my wisps.

This time, the wisps actually got themselves a whale! A hunchback whale! The wisps were having the time of their lives. As I watched them play around with the giant whale, I felt happy and worried at the same time. Something inside of me had come to care for the wisps dearly. If something happened that cause my wisps to disappear, I would probably go crazy from despair. They were like family to me now.

After awhile, it was time to leave. I called my wisps to go back into their lanterns and bid the Sandman farewell. The moon was full and bright tonight, but still it remain silent. Yet strangely, I felt as if the moon was smiling at me as it floated in the night sky.

* * *

It was morning and you know what that means? It's Halloween! I'm so excited for today! The kids will be dressing up in their costumes and stores were having special Halloween sales.

I took one of the fake ghost hanging from a tree and went flying around scaring people. While the kids ran away screaming in fear, the older kids and adults only jumped or cried in shock. Most just laughed their heads off at their adrenaline rushing and took it as a really good prank while some people cursed in anger from it. But no one attempted to check what was underneath the ghost white cloth except one man. He was pretty angry when I scared him and he just pulled to the cloth right off of me. But since I was invisible, the man saw nothing and went extremely pale. Next thing I knew, he ran like crazy, screaming "GHOST!"

I also found the park was busy with the Halloween Festival. The whole place was full of tents, booths, games, and rides. It was really crowded with so many people from all over the neighborhood. There were grownups and children running around all over the place. Even the wisps looked excited. It was their very first festival, so of course they were dying to explore everything there.

We flew around the whole place. We checked out the cotton candy machine and watched as the sugar turned into cotton. The wisps were going _Oooooo!_ as they watch the seller spin a paper cone around to make a cotton ball.

There was also this mouth-watering smell from the barbecue tent. The meat cooking aroma was so alluring. The ribs, turkey legs, sausages, burgers, and chicken smelled so good!

The wisps also had a lot of fun at the souvenir shop. They were trying out all kinds of weird sunglasses and hats while laughing at their silly appearance. I also wore a pumpkin mask and jumped at them with a loud _BOO!_ They all screamed and dropped their items in shock before running off, leaving a trail of smoke behind them. Not dust. Smoke.

Also, none of the adults noticed my wisps. Some of the kids seemed to see them and thought they were part of the festival attraction. I guess what Sandy said about how it depended on the person if they can see them or not was right, but that didn't mean I didn't try to be careful so I don't attract too much attention.

In the game section, it was bursting with activity. Shooting games, ball throwing, ring tossing, and so much more. There were also a petting zoo, pony ride, and a haunted house nearby.

We watched some kids play the _Duck Season_ shooting game and my wisps thought it would be fun to ride on the ducks. The ducks were on a four level shelf, moving from left to right on a rail. The wisps were riding on the ducks while the kids tried to shoot the fake birds. When one of the ducks that had a wisp riding on it gets hit, the duck would fall to the side with the wisp falling off of it as well. So every time a wisp falls off, the rest of the wisps would laugh like crazy.

I would also mess around with the aim, so every time someone tries to shoot, I would change the direction at the last second and hit the booth manager. The booth manager would jump in shock and pain from the rubber bullets hitting.

In the ring tossing game, the wisps made a game of their own of flying through a ring when its tossed into the air. They kinda reminded me of dolphins jumping through large hoops. They kept going _Wheeeee!_ or _Hulaaaaa!_ when they jumped through a ring. It was really funny to watch.

I on the other hand would either grab a ring that was thrown and placed it at the _First Prize_ bottle or just knocked at any ring that was close to getting in. Seeing those people going crazy from winning first prize frustrated ones when they were so close to winning was hilarious.

At the petting zoo, there were tons of cute animals like lambs, goats, rabbits, guinea pigs, chickens, chicks, calves and deers. Interestingly, the animals can see me, because some of the animals actually came up to me and let me pet them! I can actually touch them! This was an awesome discovering!

Also, the stuff that happened here nearly made me die of laughter. The wisps had a staring contest with a drooling calf. Lasted for awhile until the calf turned around to munch on some alfalfa and the wisps cheered in victory.

Then they chased some frightened chicks for fun until an angry mother hen appeared. She chased the screaming wisps back to defend her little chicks. Never mess with a mother defending her kids!

And another incident was a couple of kids, I mean by baby goats, chased the wisps, trying to ram them with their new grown horns. The wisps screamed in terror as they flew around the pen. I laughed so hard I fell off the fence I was sitting on. I was alright, but my wisps weren't going to be if they get rammed by those kids.

Then we visited the haunted house. Oh man! This was my favorite attraction of all! I could already hear the screams of terror from the victims that were already inside. We entered the building through the entrance with two couples and found ourselves in a dark spooky hall full of stuffed monster figures and realistic skeleton heads hanging above us. Webs and dust were everywhere, making it appear to look really old. There were also glow-in-the-dark foot prints on the ground to help lead the victims... I mean, guests on the right path.

The wisps were shaking in fear and huddled close to me for safety while I laughed at their reaction to the place. Sure, the place was made to look scary, but since the time when I was alive, stuff like these don't really scare me. The couple that came in with us also looked a little nervous. The girl was holding onto her boyfriend in fear while the guy tried to look tough in front of her. But if he looked at himself in a mirror, he would've notice his face was pale as a ghost. Wanting to tease this couple, I told some of the wisps to possess some of the monster figures and scare the nervous couple a bit.

They agreed with a large smile and fits of giggles before they each chose which monster figure to enter. Once they entered their desired monster, they moved around and made sounds that fit the monster.

The couple got freaked out when a werewolf figure moved and howled loudly. Then a mummy sat up in its sarcophagus and made a bone-chilling wail. A zombie started to drag its body across the floor towards them. Dracula woke up from his coffin and laughed sinisterly. The bats flew everywhere and screeched loudly while the skeleton heads hanging from above started to laughed hysterically.

"Aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!" The girl screamed.

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" The guy screamed.

Ding! Ding! Ding! The guy won! Here's the award for the highest pitch scream... More _scares!_

They ran through the hallway as the monsters chased them. The machinery in the building got activated in the process and hidden monsters would jump out at them with loud special effects like thunder and lighting.

"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" This made the couple scream even louder and ran as if their life depended on it.

Some of my wisps also got frightened from the machine monsters and jumped right out of their figures they were in.

_Aaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!_

Both the couple and my wisps came bursting out of the haunted house like freaked out chickens while I followed behind, clutching my stomach from laughing so hard that it hurt. I swear I'm going to die from laughter one day! Wait a minute, I'm already dead!

The couple finally stopped and tried to catch their breath once they were outside. Their face looked pale from all that screaming and running, but then the color started to return to their faces and they laughed like crazy.

"Oh my god! I thought I pissed my pants!" said the guy, clutching his head from the small headache from all that screaming.

"Seriously! They really made it scarier this year," complimented the girl, holding onto her boyfriend's shoulder.

"They really are putting a lot into it this year. They even hired people to dress up as the monsters!" added the guy, not realizing that the monsters were actually real stuffed figures.

They laughed until they finally calmed down and continued to enjoy the rest of the festival.

I smiled as I watched them walk away. I was glad those two enjoyed the scare I planned. I have to say, it was probably my best work yet. My wisps, on the other hand, were still shaken up and were hiding in a hole of a tree, bunched together like frightened squirrels. The sky was getting dark, so it was easy to find them with their bright fiery bodies. I flew up to them to calm them down.

"Come on, guys. It wasn't that scary," I assured them. "Those things were only made up of machines."

The wisps blabbered something I didn't really understood, but they looked scared so I had to do something to make them overcome their fear.

"Here, I'll show you," I urged them to follow me.

They were unsure at first, but they began to come out of the hole and follow me slowly one by one. We went back into the haunted house and I made my lantern lit up more to brighten up the place, showing them the machinery around the room. Metal bars, strings, wires, and machines were everywhere. Some of those machines were connected to a monster, lights, and large speaker box. Seeing it like this wasn't as scary.

"See, nothing to be afraid about. It's all fake. The darkness, sound, and light effects just made it scary, that's all. Nothing to worry," I assured them.

_Ooooooohhhhhhh_

The wisps exclaimed, no longer afraid. Now that what they were afraid before wasn't scary anymore, they darted all over the place excitedly, exploring their new discovery. We ended up playing the same tricks again with other brave victims... I mean, guests until we were satisfied. Seemed like the people actually liked how it was more frightening this year than last year. I wonder what it was like last year. Probably, not as scary as this one since I helped a little bit.

Once we had our fill of fun at the haunted house, we stroll around the rest of the festival. While sitting on a roof of a tent, enjoying a turkey leg that I secretly snatched from the barbecue grill and a bag of my favorite candy corn, my wisps and I spotted a group of teenagers around my age intimidating a group of kids. The kids were all in costume, but something about them felt familiar.

"Kids shouldn't be out so late at night, so why don't you just give us your money and run back home to bed," said one of the teenagers. A mean looking guy with an unnatural bleached spiky hair.

"No way! It's only 6 o'clock!" argued a little dark skin girl with long braided black hair in a purple witch costume with a pointy purple hat and kid size broom in hand.

Something clicked in my mind immediately. Those kids were from the park several weeks ago that played soccer. That girl was Sam, if I remembered correctly.

"Just give us the money and scram!" said another teenage boy, who looked like he could be related to a hippo with his size.

"Aren't you ashamed of yourselves! Taking money from kids!" cried the blond hair boy in a knight costume. That must be Christ.

"If you kids don't want to get hurt, just do what we say," ordered the last teenager. This guy had a pointy face and a sly look that reminded me of a fox.

I noticed another kid with brown hair, who looked afraid of those horrible teenage boys, and I recognized him as Kirt. He was in a scarecrow outfit with fake hay poking out of his clothes. The poor frightened boy was hiding behind his friends, shaking.

There were a couple of other kids I recognized, like the short dark brown hair girl in a pink fairy princess costume and black hair boy in a red ninja costume, but I never got their names. Both of them also looked nervous. The only kids standing up to the intimidating teenagers were Sam and Christ.

I felt anger rising inside of me. What those bullies were doing was shameful and despicable! Demanding money from kids, who the hell does that?! I immediately took action. I told my wisps what do and they immediately set off to initiate my plan. They too were angry at the teenagers.

And it didn't take them long to do what I told them.

"We already warned you damn brats! So give us your money or else!" threatened the bleached hair guy.

"Ooooo! He said a bad word!" exclaimed the black hair girl in the pink fairy princess dress with a surprise expression.

"Or else what?" demanded Sam, glaring at the guy twice her size with her hands on her waists.

The teenagers cracked their knuckles and said maliciously, "Or else I'll..." but the bleach hair guy didn't get to finish his threat when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around and stared in shock. The other guys turned around as well, confused, and were also in shock at what they saw behind them.

A group of terrifying monsters were towering over them. These monsters were from the haunted house earlier. Each of the monster made a threatening growl, intimidating the bullies.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

The teenagers screamed at the top of their lungs like little girls and tried to run off, but their clothes were caught by the monsters, preventing them from escaping. The monsters picked up the screaming teenagers and threw them into a large plastic pool of floating squeaky toy ducks.

Throwing three teenagers into a pool that size caused a huge splash, especially that hippo guy. This caused some screams from surprised bystanders.

The monsters brushed their hands together and sneered at the drenched teenagers, proudly. It was a job well done.

Then the whole crowd started to laugh. Even the kids were already dying from laughter.

Horribly embarrassed, the drenched teenage boys quickly got out of the pool and ran off as fast as possible, away from the laughing crowd and especially from the monsters.

Once the teenagers were gone, the kids went up to the monster, a little nervous but unafraid.

"Thanks for helping us," Sam said sincerely.

"Yeah, those bullies were getting annoying. Can't believe they tried to get our money!" complained Christ, angrily.

"They even said a bad word! Mom always said never say bad words," added the fairy princess girl. "Right, Brian?" She turned towards the ninja boy.

"That's right, Jenny! They should have their mouth washed with soap!" agreed ninja boy.

So those two are Jenny and Brian... Noted.

The monsters waved their hands as if saying 'It's alright.'

"We have to go now," Kirt whispered to Sam, tugging on her dress.

"Alright," Sam replied. Then she turned towards the monsters. "Thanks again."

"Yeah, thanks!" Christ thanked them as well.

"Bye!" They all said before running off to enjoy the rest of festival.

The monster waved good bye to the children happily. Not so terrifying anymore.

"Hey, guys. I think it's time you return those things," I went up to the monsters. "I think the owners is freaking out right now, wondering where his monsters are."

The monsters quickly nodded and dash off towards the haunted house. Then after a few minutes, the wisps returned laughing happily to themselves.

"You guys did great!" I complimented them. "That'll show those bullies not to act like a bunch of idiots."

_Uh huh _The wisps agreed wholeheartedly.

"Let's go have some fun for the rest of the night, 'kay guys?" I suggested, but I have no doubt that they'll agree.

_YEAH!_

See? I know my wisps best.

And I need another bag of candy corn.

* * *

**~Hidden in the Shadows of the Trees: ?'s POV~**

For hours, I watched through the eyes of my dark minion of the strange boy with glowing flame red hair and a lantern pole in his hand play around with his little fire underlings in the mortal's so-called festival. I've never seen this boy before nor have I ever heard of a boy who control fire. He must be a new born spirit.

I have sensed his powers for awhile, but I didn't have enough power to free myself from this underground prison to see who it was. But my powers have been slowly returning, so I have enough power to control my dark minions again.

From what I can observe, the boy does enjoy scaring people. Putting fear into their hearts. Just like me. The boy showed promise, but he was still too much of a child. Too innocent.

And my powers haven't return completely since _that_ humiliating battle, but soon I'll be powerful once again with a little help from this boy. As long as he keeps bringing fear, then soon my powers shall return and I will get revenge on those wretched guardians!

He'll make a good ally and I'll make sure he sees it my way and joins me when the time comes. One way or another...

* * *

Thank you for reading. Please comment or leave feedback or suggestions.

Now I finally got his duty as the Spirit of Fall down, next chapter will introduce another guardian. Who it is, find out next week.


	7. Chapter 5 Surprise Encounter

**Disclaimer: I do not own the ROTG universe or its original characters. This story is written within the ROTG universe. The rest of the characters belong to me.**

**Now another guardian will make an appearance. Who could it be?**

* * *

**Chapter 5: Surprise Encounter**

**~Jack O'Lantern's POV~**

It's been days after Halloween and the trees were losing their leaves. The air was getting colder and colder to the point of freezing. Even I was finding it unbearably chilly since the graveyard didn't really have a shelter that I can warm myself up. For the past few months, I've been sleeping in a tree in the graveyard with my lantern beside me to keep me warm.

Like what Sandy told me before, I could feel my powers becoming more stable. I don't have that burning feeling inside of me anymore, so it was a good sign. It _was_ getting annoying. I had to keep using my powers to release some of those energy or the buzzing feeling won't go away.

Also, after the Halloween festival, I got myself a souvenir, a pumpkin mask! It's the same mask I wore to scare the wisps at the souvenir shop. The mask was made to look like a Jack O'Lantern and covered only half my face so my mouth and lower was shown. The eyes also had this sinister look, but I liked it. When I wear it, it makes me feel scary. Besides, my name _is_ Jack O. Laternson, or _Jack O'Lantern_, so having a pumpkin mask seemed appropriate.

So the plan right now was to find shelter for winter. My wisps and I were looking for some shelter in the woods near the graveyard. While we were wandering through the trees, I found a small cliff with an old oak tree at the top. There was also a hole at the side of the cliff. The hole was big enough for me to bend over a bit, so I looked inside and saw a tunnel leading into darkness.

My wisps looked in curiously as well. They whispered something to me that sounded like a question. I assumed they wanted to know if they could explore inside. I wasn't very keen about small dark places. I get kinda nervous some times, because dark underground places reminded me too much of the mine. I can't remember everything that happened before I died, but I just know that I don't favor places like these.

But since I'm looking for shelter, places like these would make a nice home.

"Let's check it out and see where it leads us to," I suggested.

The wisps giggled excitedly and flew inside, lighting up the small dark space. We went down the tunnel, which was only a few feet down, and came upon a larger space inside. The space was the size of a small bedroom and the ceiling had small streams of light coming in. It was enough to let us see the whole place. I knew right away that we were right under the oak tree, because I could see its roots spread out across the walls. There were some rocks and boulders here and there, but it shouldn't be hard to redecorate the place.

"It's perfect," I said to myself, scanning the whole place in awe. "Guys! This is going to be our new home!" I announced cheerfully.

My wisps cheered happily and bounced all over the place.

"No partying yet. We still need to make this place livable first," I explained.

_Aaaawwww!_

The wisps whined. I guess it's like telling them to do their chores. Very understandable.

So we cleaned up the place like moving some of the rocks and boulders to make some furnitures like a table and chairs. I cleaned out twigs, dry leaves, and small rocks. I even swept and dusted down the place a bit with a bunch of long dry grass.

"We need to make a bed," I thought. "Or at least something for me to sleep on." I tried to come up with what I should find to make the bed. Maybe pine needles? Though it's not really a nice soft cushiony bed, it beats sleeping on a tree. "Does anybody want to join me to gather pine leaves to make the bed?" I asked the wisps.

Then all the wisps bounced around and chatter happily. That would be a 'yes.'

So we went outside to find pine trees, which wasn't hard since there were many pine trees in this forest. We examined each tree for good soft pine needles with easy-to-break branches. Within half an hour, we managed to gather a nice pile of pine needles.

"Alrighty! Time to bring them all back to our new home," I announced happily. I'm not sure why, but I was having fun with making my new home. Even the wisps seemed to enjoy it as much as I do.

Suddenly, we heard a _Snap!_

We all froze in surprise. It sounded like a twig was snapped. Where was it coming from? Was it an animal? We looked around, but didn't see any animals at all.

Then there were rustling in the bushes nearby.

My wisps gasped and hid behind me, shaking in fear.

"Maybe it's a squirrel?" I whispered to my wisps, not very sure myself. We _are_ in the middle of a forest, so who knows what kind of animal lived here.

The bushes rustled again.

I walked up closer to check it out. My wisps followed closely behind.

Rustled again.

I was a few feet away. My wisps were silent as they held their breath. Can fire breathe? Like _seriously_, not _figuratively_.

Then something jumped out of the bush and cried...

"BOO!"

_AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!_

My wisps screamed as something small came jumping out of the bush. It was a little girl! And not just any little girl. It was a little girl I knew very well.

"Abby?!" What was she doing here?!

"Pwetty wights!" She cried out as she ran around me to catch the wisps, which were already on the run, screaming.

_Aaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!_

Wait a minute... did she just ran _around_ me?

"Yay!"

_Aaaaaaahhhhhhh!_

They were running around in circles around me, so I felt like something was odd. And when in doubt, try it out.

"Abigail?" I tried calling her.

She stopped and looked at me.

Oh mother of Halloween! She heard me!

"Um... Abby? Can you see me?" I asked to make sure.

"Uh huh," she nodded.

"..." I went silent from shock. How did this happened? She didn't see me before, but why can she see me now?

Suddenly, I remembered what Sandy told me several nights ago. I asked if it was possible for people to see and hear me and he told me something about if a person believes in me, they would be able to see me. Does that mean Abby believes in me? But how? She doesn't even know me! I was already dead before she was born!

And more importantly, what was she doing here?!

"Abby, why are you here in the forest? It's dangerous here. You should go back home," I told her as I kneeled down to get a better eye level with her.

"I wan' to pway wiff pwetty wights," she answered in a poor pronunciation. She _was_ a little kid after all. "An' find bwother."

Find brother? Me? She knows she has a brother?

"Wait, who told you that you have a brother?" I asked.

"Mommy," She replied

So it was my mom who told her. I didn't think she would tell Abby about me yet. Especially, not until she was old enough to understand more.

"Mommy swaid dat bwother watch owa me and hes in woods," she continued to explain excitedly.

Mom said that?

"Then do you know his name?" I asked curiously.

"Jack!" She answered proudly. Strangely, I felt this warmth spread inside my chest and it wasn't from my powers.

The reason why she can see me was because she believed in her brother. She believed in me!

"Well, you're in luck!" I smiled widely. "I'm Jack."

She stared at me with wide eyes. "Weeeeeaaaaaally?"

I nodded. "Yep! I'm Jack. Jack Lanternson. Your one and only older brother!"

Her eyes brightened up and she had this big grin on her face. "Yay! I found big bwother!" She jumped up and down happily. Then she all of a sudden pounced on me and hugged me tightly.

I was speechless and shocked at the same time. I didn't expect to get a hug. Actually, I didn't know she can even _touch_ me! I could feel her small and warm body. It was such a long time since I had any body contact with anybody at all. Without realizing it, my arms wrapped around her and embraced her in a hug as well.

Never have I felt so happy to get a hug from someone. I hugged my mom a lot, but never have I felt a hug could be so precious.

"You see that, guys? I can touch her," I turned to the wisps.

The wisps cheered happily.

"Wet's pway! Wet's pway!" Abby cried out excitedly.

"Wait a minute, Abby. You should go home now. It's getting too dark," I told her, in slight serious tone. The sky was already turning red and the sun was already half way down the horizon.

"Noooooo," she protested.

"It's going to be too dark to play and mom would be worried sick again," I tried to reasoned with her.

Abby looked down in disappointment.

"We can play another time, alright?" I was bothered by her sad look so I just had to do something to make her feel better.

"Weally?" She asked hopefully.

"Of course," I promised her. "I'll even visit you at home."

"Yay! Okie-dokie!" She agreed.

So I brought her back home by carrying her in my arms while flying. She was ecstatic during the journey home. It was probably like a dream for her to be able to fly in the sky like this. Seeing the twinkle in her eyes made my heart soar. I guess this was what it felt like to have and love a younger sibling.

Once I dropped her off in the backyard and bid farewell. Abby ran back into the house and that's when my mom hugged her in relief. She probably noticed her disappearance and was about to call the police again. I don't know what mom said to Abby, but knowing that she was safe at home now, I flew back to the forest to collect my pine needles for the bed before it gets too dark. The idea of sleeping on a cold hard ground doesn't sound comfortable.

After spending so many hours, we finally had the place nice and tidied up, which I have to say I did a pretty good job myself since I rarely clean my own room. My mom used to nag at me all the time about leaving my laundry on the floor or to put away my stuff.

The pine needles were all neatly piled up in a corner that seemed the coziest spot in the room. The pine needles were kinda poky, but it didn't hurt. More like ticklish. But at least it was sleepable.

Over the week, I also gathered some pretty neat stuff that people were throwing away. I got some torn cloths, worn out blankets, and old pillows to put on my bed as beddings. I also put a dusty red curtain that came with a rusty bar over the entrance on the inside of the tunnel. I can't put curtains outside or any wandering stranger would notice it and wonder why it's there. The curtain was to act like the door and keep the cold air outside. It's not fool proof, but it'll do for now.

And luckily too, because it wasn't long for a blizzard to hit my neighborhood. The wind was blowing wildly and the snow was making it hard to see. I was sitting on my bed while I listened to the strong wind blowing outside. There was a small campfire in the center of the room, which I conjured myself, to make the room warmer.

The wisps were playing among themselves since they couldn't go outside due to the harsh weather. They would fly around playing tag or throw a small rock around so it doesn't fall to the ground. I also conjured some figures with my fire. I got the idea from Sandy's sand figures, though I can only make a few things right now. I'm still in the middle of practice. Creating figures took quite a lot of concentration and imagination. For now, I was able to make small creatures like birds, bats, snakes, and mice.

The wisps were enjoying themselves a lot with the animal shape flames. It was fascinating to watch as well when the creatures move around while their fiery bodies were blazing brightly as if they were alive.

While the wisps were have a daring battle of who can outwit my fire snake, I created two more from behind.

_Ssssssssssss_

The wisps looked behind them and froze in shock. A second later...

_Aaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh! _

They immediately scattered in terror. I laughed so hard at their terrified expression. I wondered if they forgot that those fire snakes were made by me, so they were pretty harmless and tamed as a bunny unless I tell them to be otherwise.

The blizzard was horrendous and long. It blew all day and up until the next morning. I popped out of the hole of my underground home to see what it was like outside.

Snow! A whole bunch of snow! The whole forest was covered in thick blanket of snow!

"It's snow day!" I yelled and quickly jumped out of the hole. I stepped into the thick white snow and my whole feet disappeared into it. "Cold!" I exclaimed and I quickly made my foot warmer by surrounding my whole body in heat. It's another trick I discovered and it's pretty convenient in cold weather like this.

As I walked around, I observed the surrounding areas and it was a beautiful snow white scenery. It was like it came out of a famous landscape photo. I remembered that when I was still alive, my friends and I would run out of the house and dive into the snow. We would throw snowballs, make igloos, and have a contest of who made the best snowman. It was so much fun back in those days.

The wisps were also amazed at the snowy environment. It was their very first snow, too. They were going _Ooooooooo_ and _Aaaaaaaaah _as they look around. Then they all scattered to check out the snow. Unfortunately, when they try to touch the snow, it would melt, but that didn't stop them from finding ways to have fun with it.

Some of them would be hopping in the snow, making holes in the snow covered ground. It almost looked like strange foot print. Another group of wisps would be drawing in the snow, making weird drawings that I can barely make out. Others were jumping off branches and diving into a pile of snow with a loud _Thud!_

The wisp that jumped off the branch disappeared into the pile of snow. The other wisps that were watching from the bottom laughed like crazy, but then...

_Thud!_

Another pile of snow fell onto the laughing wisps, burying them. The snow came from the branch that the wisp was jumping off of when it bounced on it, causing the snow to shake and fall off.

Then the wisps popped out of the snow, stared at each other, and then laughed even harder than before.

They were loving it!

I was happy that they were enjoying themselves, but I wanted to check out the town first.

"Let's go, guys. We'll play later," I told them.

They gave me a sad look and made an _Awwwwww _sound.

"When I said later, I meant in town," I explained.

Then they babbled excitedly.

I took out my new pumpkin mask I got from the Halloween festival and put it over my face. Then I put my hood over my head to make it feel more mysterious.

"How do I look? _Mysterious?_" I asked my wisps with a low strange tone.

_Ooooo! Uh huh!_

They all nodded.

"Good! I was planning to wear this next time we meet Sandy. I always wanted to try and scare him," I explained. I may have pulled tricks on him a few times, but never have I ever scared him. The guy had nerves of steel!

"And maybe Abby. A little though," I added. Wondering what kind of face Abby would make when she sees me in this mask.

So we flew out of the forest towards my neighborhood. The view from the sky, looking down upon the snowy town, was amazing. The whole place was covered in pure white snow. We flew across the snow covered houses and trees. People were walking about, clearing the snow, brushing off their cars, or admiring the winter scenery.

We continued to fly around until we came upon the park where kids were running around playing in the snow. They were throwing snow balls, making snowmen, riding on a slay down a large pile of snow, and making snow angels. The whole park was full of shouts and laughters.

I planned on visiting Abby in the afternoon later, since I wanted to check on other places first. Maybe I could play a few little pranks here before that time comes.

I landed on thick branch of a tall pine tree, so I could see the whole park. The view up here was great! You can see everything from up here! I looked around to find who I should play around with when I spotted something unusual.

I spotted a guy playing with the kids. Of course, there's nothing wrong with a guy playing with the kids. There were some adults, teenagers, and old seniors here as well. But what made me feel like this guy was strange was because of his snow white hair! I first thought he might be some very old man, but this guy was much too active and swift for an old guy. The white hair guy was also holding some kind of wooden hook staff.

When I watched closely, I was sure the guy was a teenager around my age. How many teenagers have their whole head snow white?! Maybe he dyed it? But why white?

So I continued to watch this guy further and it wasn't long before I noticed something else. Something a normal human shouldn't be able to do.

He was flying...

* * *

**~Jack Frost's POV~**

Winter was coming and that meant it's snow making time! It was my job to bring snow and winter to cities and towns. I've been to many places so far, bringing snow days and fun time with me.

Kids loved the snow. It felt great watching the kids enjoy themselves with something I made. What was even better was playing with the kids!

It's been more than a year since the first child believed in me and I became an official _Guardian_. It was great to be believed in, because now the kids can finally see me and hear me. It was much better than playing around, but not be seen or heard. It was very lonely.

But after that battle with Pitch Black and his Nightmares, not only am I a Guardian, kids can now see and hear me. It was a tough battle, but one where I will never forget.

Now, I'm playing with some kids in the park of some town in Virginia that I just brought snow to. I created snowballs as the kids threw them at each other. It was a great snowball fight. The kids were getting hit and covered in snow. I had to fly around to dodge all those snowballs that were targeting me, but I was much too fast for them.

"Ha! Missed me!" I shouted and threw a snowball at a boy. It smacked him right on the head.

"Hey! No fair! You're flying!" A girl cried angrily.

"Well yeah. I don't want to get hit, do I?" I replied.

"Fine then. Everyone get him!" ordered the girl and every snowball came flying my way.

"Oh boy!" I immediately flew around like crazy, trying to dodge the snowballs. "Is that all you guys got?"

Then I felt something strange. It was like I was being watched. I turned and looked around, trying to find who was spying. That's when I noticed something hiding in a tree. I couldn't see very well because of all the pine needles and branches. But I was able to make out a dark figure hidden within its shadow. The dark figure was watching me, I could feel it. I also noticed several lights floating around the figure.

"What is that?" I whispered to myself.

Then I spotted the figure had bright and glowing yellow eyes, which even I could see from all the way here.

A Nightmare? Or maybe...PITCH!?

Out of instinct, I quickly aimed my staff at the figure and shot out a bright blue bolt of lightning at it.

The figure didn't have time to react and the blue lightning hit its target with a loud _BAM! _The figure fell off the tree and landed onto the snow below.

"Bull's eye!" I cried in victory.

Then I saw the figure got up and moving from side to side as if it was dizzy. When it spotted me, it quickly flew off into the sky.

I knew it was trying to get away, so I quickly flew after it. Whatever it was, hiding in the shadow of the trees was too suspicious, so I have to find out what it was.

* * *

**~Jack O'Lantern's POV~**

Oh my god! Jesus Christ! He shot me! He freakin' shot me!

Whatever he shot me with almost turned my whole body into ice. Luckily, I was able to melt it with my powers fast enough to get away quickly.

That guy was definitely not human and right now, I don't even know if he's a friend or foe. But since he shot me, I'm getting my butt outta here!

I quickly jetted into the sky, away from that guy as much as possible, the wisps followed beside me. My whole body was going through a rush of adrenaline. I was gasping for oxygen while my blood rushed like crazy throughout my body. The wisps also looked scared. Never have they met anything that would attack them.

Then the wisps made loud sharp panicked chatter that caught my attention. I looked back to see the white hair guy was following behind me. He was flying after me with a scary look on his face.

If you have someone scary following you, naturally, you'll want to defend yourself. So out of instinct and fear, I created five large fireballs the size of basketballs and shot at him while still trying to fly away from him.

The guy just dodged and blasted a few of them with his bright blue bolts of light. Then he shot some of his weird blue lightning at me, trying to take me down out of the sky. Some of my wisps almost got hit in the process as well.

Something inside my chest squeezed tightly. "Get into the lantern NOW!" I yelled at them in panic. The situation was getting dangerous and I have to get the wisps in a safe place. The wisps didn't argue and quickly went into the lantern for safety.

I quickly dodged the ice beams as best as I could and sent a large flock of birds made of fire at him, hoping it would slow him down. It worked!

While he was distracted by the fire birds, I flew as fast as possible until I spotted the forest. I quickly dived into the trees, hoping he won't be able to find me here.

I was dead wrong.

The ice guy followed me not long after I went in. He must've gotten rid of the fire birds flock I sent at him pretty quickly. I darted in every direction while dodging trees that were in my way, trying to lose him. Yet, the guy was still on my tail ten feet away.

"So persistent!" I complained. If he's not going to leave me alone, then I'm going to have to fight back! I sent streams of flames at him that slithered through the air and flew at the white hair guy from different direction.

Then the guy made a large blast of bright blue light, blowing out the flames.

Before he had time to ready himself for his next attack, I concentrated hard to make two large fire wolves. I wasn't used to making large animals yet but I was desperate right now. Then I sent them darting at the guy.

The guy tried to blast them like he did before, but this time the wolves dodged them and tried to pounce on him with their jaws wide open, trying to bite his head off. The guy just ducked in time and slid below him. Unfortunately, he had to deal with the second one. The second fiery wolf swiped its paw and sent the guy flying into a tree with a loud _Crash!_

Some of the snow came falling down from the tree due to the impact and buried the guy underneath.

The wolves slowly stalked up the snow, ready to attack if the guy came out. Then there was a loud _Bang!_ and a large flash of bright blue light exploded from the snow pile. The blast sent a strong wind in every direction. I had to cover my face as a strong cold wind hit me. I opened my eyes slightly so I don't take my eyes off my opponent. The wolves got blasted back and dispersed into this air. Then I saw something shooting in my direction and I quickly held out my lantern pole in defense on instinct.

There was a loud _Klank!_ as my pole and his staff hit. I pushed my pole upward as hard as possible as the guy tried to pushed his staff downward at me. Our eyes met as we glared at each other. Flashes of orange and blue sparks came spewing out at where the pole and staff collided.

"Who are you?!" He demanded in a loud voice.

I couldn't speak as I tried to hold my ground so all I could do was gritted my teeth while I build up my energy as quickly as possible and blasted it back at him.

_BOOM!_

There was a loud explosion when his power and mines clashed into each other and sent a large wave of energy all over the place. Both of us were blown in different directions from the powerful blast. I crashed in a tree and fell onto the soft snowy ground. My whole body was aching and in pain. Especially, my back since it hit the tree really hard. If I was still human, I would've broken my spine.

"Ugh..." I groaned from the pain. I almost got knocked out cold, but somehow I was still conscious. My head was spinning like crazy and I tried to get my mind straightened out. I also tried to get up, but the pain was making it very hard. I had to grit my teeth to push myself up. When I touched my head due to the pain, I realize something was missing. My pumpkin mask was gone. I looked at my hand and my lantern pole was gone as well.

Where'd they go!?

I looked around and saw my lantern pole and mask scattered in the snow several feet away. I quickly got up, ignoring the screaming aches, and tried to grab my lantern pole. Then I was hit right in the chest by a freezing cold flash of bright blue energy and was knocked right into a tree again, but this time my whole body, except my head, was frozen to it. I tried to move, but I couldn't even move a muscle. I was caught.

Then I heard the sound of footsteps stepping in the snow, headed towards me. I looked up and saw the snow white hair guy glaring at me and breathing hard from exhaustion. His appearance also didn't look good as well. He had a few bruises, cuts, and some burnt spots on his clothes. I probably didn't look any better than him. He had his staff pointed at me, ready to strike if I do something funny.

"Who are you?" he demanded the same question again. "Do you work for Pitch?"

"Pitch?" Why does that name sounded familiar? Why do I feel like something was crawling up my body? And it wasn't from the ice. "I don't work for anybody! Now let me go!"

"Then why were you spying on me?" He came closer with his staff still aimed at me.

"Spying?! I was only watching the kids play around and you just happened to be there! I wasn't planning on doing anything!" Okay, last part may be a bit of a lie, but I was gonna be turned into a popsicle here!

Now he was a couple of feet away from me and he pushed the hood off my face with his staff. He must've wanted to get a better look at me since I did had my mask and hood covering my head. Okay, I admit that my appearance might look a bit suspicious, but he didn't need to freakin' freeze me because of it!

The look on his face was obviously surprised and confused.

"What? Never saw a guy with glowing hair and eyes?" I snapped.

"You're a kid," he stated, still looking confused.

"Hey! I'm not a kid. I'm a teenager! You don't look any older than I do, buddy!" I snapped again angrily.

"Well, I'm not going to say this again so who are... what the...!?" Before he could asked the same question the third time, orbs of fire were surrounding him and crying out like crazy.

It was the wisps!

The white hair guy was swinging his staff around as if they were flies that were buzzing around him annoyingly.

"Get away from me!" He yelled out, swinging his staff around.

The wisps didn't give up and kept attacking him. They were trying to get him away from me as far as possible. I was both grateful and worried at the same time.

"Guys! Get away from him! He's too dangerous!" I shouted, but the wisps ignored me and continued to attack him with their little fiery bodies.

"Buzz off!" The white hair guy cried out and created a blast of wind around him, knocking my wisps out of the air. They all fell and disappeared into the snow.

Something inside of me snapped.

"How dare you hurt my wisps!" I yelled with all my anger. At the same time, I could feel my whole body burning up and melting the ice away in seconds.

Before the guy could react, I flew at him immediately once I was able to move and kicked him in the stomach with all my anger in it. I sent him rolling onto the snowy ground. Then I quickly snatched my lantern pole and sent a large flame blast at him.

The guy saw the large fire flying towards him and he tried to block it with his staff, but unfortunately for him, the blast was so strong it knocked him backwards, knocking his staff out of his hand as well.

He did a few backflips before he landed on his back on the ground with a loud _Thud!_

"Ow..." he cried as he grasped his head while he rolled onto his stomach and tried to get up.

I was about to send another flame thrower at him when there came a loud scream that echoed through the forest.

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!"

The scream sounded familiar. _Very_ familiar. When I realized who it was, I felt my whole body froze.

"Abby..."

* * *

Thank you for reading. Please comment or leave feedback or suggestions.

Last week, _Vasyl_ made a comment of another possible spirit in this story, so I had a talk with my friends about it and they all agreed that it sounded like a good idea and it would make sense to make another OC for that specific role. So I had a meeting with my friends about who it should be to take that role and one friend suggested a character from an old literature (Most of you would probably know the character once you hear the name but I won't say it now). At first, I was skeptic about it due to the original character's not-kid-friendly and might not work, but my friend said "Then we'll make it work!" with a serious look. So now a second OC spirit has been decided, but won't make an appearance for a long while. I'll put some clues in some of the future chapters (not all, _some_), but I think the first clue (Hint: role of the character) is already in Vasyl's comment for Ch. 4.

Now I have to edit some of the unposted chapters to put the clues in. Not to mention I have another story I have to finish that's due within a month. *sigh*


	8. Chapter 6 Prank with the Guardian of Fun

**Disclaimer: I do not own the ROTG universe or its original characters. This story is written within the ROTG universe. The rest of the characters belong to me.**

**Looks like I had two people making guesses on the next OC spirit and one of them guessed it right (after a few PMing) and already had a confirmation from me. I'm also currently still in the middle of a few other projects myself and haven't really written any new chapters, but that doesn't mean I don't think about the story. I'm doing some plot editing in my head so I know where the story will be heading and how it will end. I'm even considering of writing one-shot stories within this story's universe that doesn't have anything to do with the story's plot.**

**Now to the story. Enjoy the read.**

Edit: Just a small grammar/spelling mistake. Thank you for pointing it out, whoever you are.

* * *

**Chapter 6: Prank with the Guardian of Fun**

I flew through the woods as fast as my powers can go. I didn't care about the white hair guy anymore. From what I felt from that scream, Abby was in trouble. I flew to where I believed Abby was. I don't know how, but I just knew she was in this direction.

When I arrived to where Abby was, I saw three stray dogs surrounding her. They were growling and had foam in their mouth. Their fur was dirty and ragged as if they've been sleeping in a garbage dump. Their eyes looked crazed and when they moved, their legs would stagger. They were getting closer and closer to Abby, who looked scared out of her mind. Her face was pale and covered in tears from crying.

"Hewp! Mommy! Daddy!" she screamed through her tears. "Jack! Hewp me!"

That was enough to make me lose my mind.

"Abby!" I quickly sent bullets of flames at the savaged dogs. "Get away from my sister!"

The dogs cried in pain when the fire burned their fur. While they were jumping around, trying to put the fire out, I landed in front of Abby and quickly made a fire wall surrounding both of us for protection. If the dogs try to get any closer, they'll be burned to crisp. I didn't care about anything else besides protecting Abby from these crazy strays.

The dogs were able to put out the fire moments later, but when they saw the fire wall. Their ears drooped and their tails fell between their legs. Fearing the burning flames before them, they quickly ran off.

When the dogs disappeared into the trees, I felt Abby hugging my leg, shaking. I made the fire wall disappear once there were no more dangers. I turned around, got onto my knee, and hugged Abby tightly in relief.

"Abby, what are you doing here?" I demanded sternly, staring at her. "I told you it's dangerous in the forest! That's why I didn't want you to come here."

"Jack didn' come an' pway wiff Abby," she told me through her tears. She tried to rub some off with her puffy white jacket.

I felt bad since I did promise her that I'll visit her, but I didn't really got the time. I was planning on seeing her today, but...

"So you aren't a bad person after all," I heard a voice from nearby. I knew who that voice belonged to and I quickly aimed my lantern pole at him.

Standing on a branch on the tree, not far from where my sister and I were, was the white hair guy, looking down at us with interest.

I glared at him distrustfully, this guy hurt my wisps so I wasn't going to forgive him that easily.

"Jack? Who he?" Abby asked from behind me.

"Jack?" The white hair guy looked confused when Abby called my name and stared at me curiously. "Your name's Jack?"

"Yeah, so what's it to you?" I said angrily.

"Well, my name's Jack, too," he replied with a playful grin. Then he jumped down from the tree and landed on the ground gently. "So I guess you don't work for Pitch then."

"I already told you I work for no one!" I snapped. "Like five minutes ago!"

"Two Jacks?" Abby looked confused. "Abby has two bwothers?"

"What?! No! He's NOT your brother!" I quickly corrected her misunderstanding. "That guy is dangerous! So don't go near him!"

"Wait wait wait! I'm sorry I attacked you. I didn't know you were an okay guy," The white hair Jack tried to apologize, but I wasn't gonna forgive him just like that.

"You shot me! Chased me! Attacked me! And hurt my wisps! You think I'm going to just say 'Okay, I forgive you'?!" I shouted out of anger and sent a wave of fire at him.

"Whoa!" The white hair Jack quickly jumped into the air to dodge the fire. "Wait a minute! I really am sorry! I didn't mean to hurt your... your _wisps_! I only blew them away out of reflex!"

I didn't listen to his excuses. All I thought was that he hurt my precious wisps.

"Then eat _this_ out of reflex!" I sent more waves of fire in his direction.

The white hair Jack had to fly around quickly to not get hit, but that didn't stop me from sending more.

"Dude! Chill down!" The guy had enough and shot an icy blue energy at me.

I countered with my own fire blast and when the two energies collided, it caused a huge explosion again.

BOOM!

The explosion sent blast of air in every direction. I grabbed Abby and used my body to protect her from the blast. Snow flew everywhere. Even I was covered from head to toe with snow.

When the air became clear, I could see the other Jack getting up from the ground. The explosion must've sent him flying to the ground.

"Ow... Jeez! Would you just calm down?" he complained, rubbing his head.

I glared him distrustfully, my lantern aiming at him.

"Jack... Abby's scwared," I felt a light tug on my leg. I looked at Abby and saw an anxious look in her eyes.

"It's alright, Abby. I won't let him hurt you," I assured her.

"What?! I'm not going to _hurt_ her!" The other Jack argued.

"And why should I believe you!" I argued back.

Then I heard many loud chatters and blabbers in the distance. I quickly looked around and I saw several balls of light flying towards me. I couldn't believe my eyes, but I knew what they were.

"Guys! You're alright!" I cried cheerfully, relieved to see they were fine.

The wisps came flying into my chest, their version of a hug. I felt relieved and wrapped my arms around them. "Thank god! You guys aren't hurt, are you?" I asked worriedly.

The shook their heads and made a 'uh uh' sound, which was a no.

"Pwetty wights!" Abby gasped excitedly.

"See? They're alright. No harm done," The other Jack said.

"That doesn't change the fact that you attacked us," I reminded him. My anger had decreased once I knew that my wisps weren't hurt, but that didn't make my wariness go away.

"I said I'm sorry. Let me make it up to you, okay?" The other Jack tried to apologize again. "Since we both had a very bad first impression of each other, let's start over. I'm Jack. Jack Overland Frost." He held out his hand for a shake.

I stared at his hand for a while, unsure if I should trust him, but there was no harm in introducing myself. "Jack Oliver Lanternson. These guys here are my wisps," I pointed to the wisps that were hovering around me while ignoring the other Jack's hand. "And this is my sister, Abigail Lanternson."

Jack Frost realized that I wasn't going to take his hand, so he pulled it back and put it into his sweater's pocket. "Sooooo, you new in town? I've never seen you before."

"I've been here for almost half a year," I said in a cold tone. "I used to live here over a decade ago before I died," I added.

"Oh! Uh... I'm sorry about that," The guy looked like he felt awkward. "And is your sister... um... like you?" He looked at Abby.

"No. She's still alive and human, if that's what you mean. She was born long after I died," I explained still giving him a cold tone.

"Oh... okay," He scratched his head with his staff, not sure how to continue this weird conversation.

Then I felt Abby tugging my pants again.

"Jack?" She called.

"Yeah?" I replied.

"Yes?" The other Jack replied.

Oh boy, this was going to get complicated. With both our names being Jack, we'll get confused when someone tries to call one of us.

"I'm hungwy," Abby replied and right on cue, her stomach growled.

The wisps gasped and stared at her stomach in awe as if they never heard a stomach growl. Now that I think about it, I guess they never had.

"It is lunch time," I thought. "I should get you home then."

Then I picked up my sister into my arms and was about to leave when I remembered that it was common courtesy to bid farewell to people when you're leaving. I turned towards the other Jack and said, "We have to go, so bye." Then I flew off into the air with my wisps behind me.

"Wait a minute!" The other Jack flew after me.

"What do you want, _Frost_?" I demanded coldly. Can't this guy leave me alone?!

"Frost?" He looked at me, confused.

"I don't want to call you Jack since it's my name as well and it would feel weird to call my own name, so I'm using your last name instead," I explained.

"Then should I call you _Lantern_?" He replied back at me.

"What? No! That sounds lame," I retorted.

"Pumpkin!" Abby suddenly joined in in our nicknaming discussion.

"What?!" I stared at her.

"Pumpkin!" She pointed to my shirt.

I looked down and yes, there's a pumpkin picture on my shirt. Actually, it's supposed to be a Jack O'Lantern, but why argue with a kid.

"Pumpkin? Pff!" Frost laughed.

"Um... I guess if your using it, Abby, I'm fine," I agreed. But when I turned to Frost, "But not you. It would sound creepy if you used it." Pumpkin sounded like something similar to _Cupcake_ or _Cookie_ that couples would call each other. It's just too intimate and... ugh, do I have to go any further?

"Agreed. _Lantern_ it is," He decided.

"Shut it," I snapped at him. He was seriously getting on my nerve.

"Why are you so snappy? You still mad at me?" Frost asked. This time, he sounded serious.

"Nope. I'm not mad anymore. Just annoyed," I told him.

"What do I have to do to _appease_ you?" He half demanded half complained.

"Then why do want to _appease_ me so bad?" I replied back.

"I just want us to be friends. It's not every century I find someone that I can talk to that is around my age... well, more like _appear_ to be around my age," he corrected himself.

"Aren't there supposed to be others like you... like us?" I asked.

"There _are_ others like us, but when it comes to age, they're a lot older and more... _busy_ with their work," he explained while trying to poke a wisp that was closest to him, but the wisps just jumped away in surprise.

"So they're more like adults."

"Pretty much."

Then finally, we arrived out my old house. We made sure no one was looking before we landed in the backyard. Someone might get a heart attack if they find a little girl floating in the air.

When I put Abby down, she ran towards the kitchen door. Then she turned around and waved at us. "Bye bye."

"Bye, Abby. And don't go wandering in the forest on your own again," I yelled behind her.

The wisps also bounced around while saying their good byes, but they sounded more like a bunch of babbles.

"See ya, kid," Frost waved lightly.

Then Abby disappeared into the door.

I was about to take my leave, now that I dropped my sister off, when Frost flew in front of me.

"So these things are called wisps, right?" He pointed at one of the wisps. "Are they like your little helpers?"

The wisps backed away nervously and hid behind my back. They started to chatter something at me. They don't seem to like Frost that much.

"Helpers? I guess," I replied while I walked passed him. "They're more like my family though."

"So wanna go hang out? Have some fun?" asked Frost eagerly, still following me.

I thought for awhile. If what Frost said was true about the other beings like us, then they aren't that many that have a similar mindset. You know, like a teenager. Sandy was nice and cool, but he's more like an uncle to me. I guess it wouldn't hurt to have guys like him as a friend. Not that there are that many in the first place.

"Sure, so what do you have in mind?" I agreed.

The wisps looked at me, surprised that I agreed since I was a little hostile towards him before.

"Really? Great! Wanna go see the park? We can hang around there," suggested Frost.

So I told my wisps to go into the lantern, which they did without arguments, before we flew towards the park. Strange. They probably still don't like the Frost guy.

On the way, Frost asked more questions about me and tried to get my mood to lighten up. He also told some stuff about himself, too.

"So you've been asleep for more than a decade? Wow, that's long," commented Frost.

"I probably would've still been asleep if the moon didn't wake me up," I said. "And I was getting used to sleeping in the dirt," I added jokingly.

Frost laughed. "Well, it's better than waking up in a frozen lake."

"So do you have any idea why the moon called me?" I asked. I don't think changing seasons was the only thing the moon wanted me to do. Or more like it's not the main purpose. I don't know why but that was what I've been feeling lately. The moon had been silent since the day I was awaken, so I had zero clue to what he really wanted.

"For me, it also took me awhile to find my purpose. About three hundred years."

"Three hundred years!? Is it going to take me that long to know mine?!" That's _waaaay_ too long!

"It depends. I lost my memory when I first woke up so it took me awhile, but recently, I had them back. My purpose is to bring fun and joy to kids. I'm the Guardian of Fun and I make great snow, so I bring awesome snow days for kids to play," he explained.

"Guardian of Fun? Is that like some kind of hero title you made yourself?" I joked, though I was curious about the Guardian part.

"There are other Guardians as well like North, the Guardian of Wonder; Tooth, Guardian of Memories; Bunnymund, Guardian of Hope; And Sandman, Guardian of Dreams."

"Wait a sec. You're saying Sandy is a Guardian as well?" I looked at him, surprised by this information.

"You know Sandy?" He looked at me, a little surprised as well.

"Yeah, he comes by here a lot," I told him. "So Sandy's the Guardian of Dreams. I guess that's not surprising. The guy makes dreams every night."

"We're here," announced Frost, pointing his staff at the park before us. We flew down towards it, but we didn't land just yet. We hovered in the air to observe the surroundings.

There were still people and kids in the park. The adults and seniors were either taking a stroll or sitting on a bench while the kids were still playing in the snow.

"Time for a little gust of wind," I heard Frost whispered.

Then he dived towards the path where the people were walking and he flew passed them, creating a cold wind behind him. There were gasps and screams from the crowd when they were hit by the strong wind. A bunch of stuff were flying around like hats, newspapers, and... was that a wig?!

I laughed so hard when I spotted a guy touching his clean shiny top head as if he was trying to find something. I bet he's the owner of that wig.

"Come on out guys. It's time for a little fun," I called my wisps.

They came out of the lantern and looked around, blabbering in excitement. When they saw Frost freezing a water fountain that a kid was drinking and caused the kid's tongue to get stuck to the frozen water, they crackled like crazy.

I guess I'm not the only prankster among the magical beings.

"Come on guys. We can't have him beat us in pranking," I told the wisps. They all cheered in agreement. Immediately, my wisps flew off in different directions.

I spotted one disappeared into a coffee stand nearby. The guy that was working at the stand was greeting a customer and was about to get her hot mocha latte when he discovered that the lever wasn't working. Nothing was coming out of the tap. He tried pressing the lever again and again, but nothing. Finally, on the eleventh push, hot brown liquid came gushing out like a hose, freaking out the worker and customer. Even though I was having a good laugh, I do feel bad for wasting good coffee.

Not too far away, a couple of wisps teased a pug that some guy was walking and made it chased them around the owner, causing the leash to tie around his leg. When he tried to get back his balanced, the final tug from the dog caused the guy to fall on his bottom. The wisps giggled in laughter.

Then I saw another group of my wisps getting chased by a stray cat. This cat was pretty big, too. The look on the wisps terrified face and high pitch scream pretty much said that this was not part of their plan. They ran through the crowd, jumping on benches, and stands. People were gasping and shouting at the cat as it ran passed them. A poor old man almost tripped in the process. Finally, the cat fell into a trash bin with a loud _Yeow!_ and the wisps sighed in relief.

Seeing how my wisps were having their fun, I just had to join in. Can't let my wisps do all the work.

"Wow, your wisps sure know how to create a havoc," Frost appeared beside me and commented as he watched the wisps stole a lady's scarf.

"My turn," I announced and flew towards the group of kids that were playing in the snow. To my luck, some of those kids were ones I recognized, too. Sam, Christ, and the others were here. This was going to be fun!

I launched a few small fireballs at the snow covered ground, melting the snow and creating holes. The kids that were running didn't see the holes and eventually, tripped in them. I made five kids fall in three seconds, including Christ. How's that!

"What the? Where'd these holes come from?" cried Christ, face full of snow.

Then I dived towards Kirt and took his hat, creating my own gust of wind. Believing that the strong gust of wind took his hat, he chased it like crazy.

"Hey! Get back here!" Kirt yelled, running after it. Not looking where he's going, he crashed into another boy and both fell into the snow.

"Hey!" The boy cried, annoyed.

"Sorry!" Kirt apologized and he quickly got up to run after the hat again.

After I had enough, I dropped it onto the ground and to my surprise, Kirt actually pounced on it. Head first into the snow.

_Kapoof!_

Snow scattered everywhere. I fell into the snow, laughing.

"Phew! Got it," breathed Kirt, relieved. He was brushing off the snow off his hat when I had another idea.

I drew a smirking face on the snow in front of him with my fire. It took a second for Kirt to notice the face appearing in the snow without seeing anyone drawing it.

"Aaaaaahhhhh!" His eyes were wide in shock and he threw his hat into the air.

"Kirt, what's the matter?" Sam came running towards him, worried.

"Face! There's a face in the snow!" Kirt pointed to where he saw the face.

But by that time, I already erased it so no evidence was left behind.

"I don't see any face," said Sam.

"What? But it was right there! The face just appeared on the snow and nobody was drawing it," explained Kirt, shaken.

I couldn't help chuckling at the look on his face. Why was he so much fun to scare?

"Are you having hallucination again, Kirt? Last time was a laughing ball. Now a face in the snow? You really need to go check your eyes," Christ said, clearly doubting Kirt.

"I'm serious!" Kirt cried.

Seeing how Kirt was going to look like he was crazy, I went up to Christ, used my lantern pole, and knocked his leg, causing him to fall backwards into the snow.

"Woah!"

_Poof!_

8/10 points. His fall wasn't graceful enough.

"Christ?" Both Sam and Kirt called, worried and surprised.

"I'm okay!...What just happened?" asked Christ, still confused at his sudden fall.

"You slipped," Brian said as he walked up to the group. "9/10"

"And fell," added Jenny. "6/10"

"What's the numbers for?" demanded Christ.

"You need to work on the fall without looking like you're flapping like a chicken," explained Jenny.

Ouch! Harsh judge.

"Well, I thought it was funny," disagreed Brian.

And this was the easy going judge.

Christ didn't look amused. Both Kirt and Sam were holding in their laughter behind him, but I could still hear their giggling.

"Twins," Christ said under his breath in an unamused tone.

Oh! So Jenny and Brian were twins! I guess they do look kinda similar. Now that I have a better look at them up close, Christ had this light blue eyes, Sam's was dark brown, Kirt's were green, Jenny and Brian had greyish eyes.

I'm not sure why, but something about Kirt reminded me of someone, but who?

Just when I trying to remember who Kirt reminded of, I heard someone shouting from nearby.

"Kirt! Your mom said it's time for you to come home!"

"Uncle Michael!" Kirt called back.

Immediately, I turned around when Kirt said that name and there, standing on the pathway, was Mikey! Now I know who Kirt reminded me of. It was Mikey. Both their appearance and personality was very similar! Even their easy-to-scare habit was the same.

Mikey was waving at Kirt as the boy ran up to him. He was all grown up and taller and... skinnier. So many things about him changed. He didn't look like that timid boy in school anymore. He looked more mature now.

I watched as Kirt waved good bye to his friends and walked home with Mikey. I kept watching them until I felt someone patting me on my shoulder.

"You alright?" Frost asked, looking at me worriedly.

"I'm fine," I assured him. "I just saw an old friend, that's all."

Now that I think about it. I wonder how Irwin and Phil were doing. What happened to them after the mine collapsed that night?

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Thank you for reading. Please comment or leave feedback or suggestions.

Looks like we know where the next chapter's story is heading. Wait until next week.


	9. Chapter 7 Who to Forgive

**Disclaimer: I do not own the ROTG universe or its original characters. This story is written within the ROTG universe. The rest of the characters belong to me.**

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**Chapter 7: Who to Forgive**

**~Michael's POV~**

I looked down at my watch and saw that it was almost time to meet the guys at our usual place. Phil, Irwin, and I would often meet up at a bar downtown. Since we all had jobs and not as much time to hang out like we used to, we always try to take the time that we were all free.

The sky was already dark and the streets were full of bright colorful lights from neon signs and advertisement boards. The whole town was covered in pure white snow. The cars' engines roared as they drove by on the street. Music could be heard lightly from stores, cafe, and restaurants. The air was also very cold to the point where I could see my breath.

I walked down the sidewalk for awhile when I finally came upon a bar. When I pushed through the door, I could hear jazz music being played from all around the room and the place was slightly dark except for the lights from small hanging lamps over each table and counter. I looked around and spotted my two friends sitting at a table deep inside. Phil was waving at me to come over. I walked through the tables and sat down at the empty seat left for me.

"Hey, Phil. Irwin. Been busy lately?" I asked to start a conversation.

"It's almost the holidays. What do you expect" replied Phil. Phil was slightly taller than when he was still in high school. His jet black hair was still short and sleek like back then as well, but the only difference was that he now wore square shape glasses over his black almond eyes.

"Whatever," that was all Irwin replied. He lifted up his large foot glass beer and swallowed a few gulps of the yellow liquid. Irwin probably went through the biggest change out of all of them. He used to be the tough and active one in the group, but after what happened to Jack several years ago, he hasn't been the same since. His sandy blond hair that used to be short and well kept was now longer and messier. He used to be great in sports and had a strong body built that girls would drool over, but now he was thinner and had this weak and drained look in his oak brown eyes.

Both Phil and I knew that Irwin was blaming himself for Jack's death. Jack Lanternson was the joker of our group and there was never a dull time with him. He was also Irwin's childhood friend. They've been with each other since kindergarten and all the way up to high school.

Even though Jack was the one that loved to prank people, it was usually Irwin that came up with the plans. So whenever Irwin suggested trying something crazy out for fun, Jack would always go along with it, including exploring the mines and playing a ouija board. The rest of us just tag along since we were friends after all, but we never thought that the game would cost us Jack's life.

Irwin had been feeling guilty and blaming himself since then. He always thought that if he never suggested doing something so dangerous, Jack would still be here with us. Phil and I tried to assure him that it wasn't his fault. We all were devastated from Jack's death, especially me. If I hadn't freaked out and caused the dynamite to explode, the mine wouldn't collapse and Jack would be alive. I was in distress for a few years, but I was able to find the right help and eventually recover from my trauma.

Phil was also depress for his oversight. He knew the plan was risky, but he didn't try to stop us. Like the teenager he was, he wanted to try out something exciting. Out of all of us, he was able to overcome his depression first and regain his composure in a few months. He came to accept the truth of what happened that night since they can't change the past, so he decided to move on with his life. It might sound like he was cold to easily accept Jack's death so easily, but it was his way of honoring Jack's death.

Irwin was different. He didn't go crazy like I did or calmed down like Phil, but he became really quiet and reserved. He stopped playing sports and hasn't laughed or smiled for years. He almost became antisocial if it wasn't for us trying to talk to him out of concern. After high school, he began to smoke and drink.

We both knew that what Irwin was doing wasn't right, but we didn't want to take away his only moments of peace. Losing Jack wasn't just losing a close friend, but a brother as well.

"So what are you guys doing during the holidays?" I asked, hoping to lighten up the mood of the table.

"I have a date with my girlfriend on Christmas," answered Phil. Of course, the smart guys always get the girls first. Phil has been dating for two years now, so his relationship with his girlfriend was going great.

"I'm spending time with my family on Christmas week," I told mines. "What about you Irwin? What are you doing for Christmas?"

Irwin didn't answer immediately. He was silent for a few seconds before he answered. "Nothing really. I'm probably gonna stay in my apartment during that time." Then he took another gulp of the beer.

"What about your parents? When was the last time you visited them?" I demanded. Irwin and his parents hadn't been on good terms with each other around the same time Irwin's personality made a one eighty. It's not like Irwin and his parents were angry at each other or anything, but Irwin didn't have enough courage to face his parents while his parents were worried sick about him.

"I believe it was two years and eight months ago," Phil answered.

"It's none of your guys' business so butt off!" snapped Irwin, his face was turning slightly red from the alcohol.

"Irwin, it's the holidays. Couldn't you at least see your parents?" I pressed him.

"Why should I? They probably wouldn't want to see me anyways since I failed them so god damn bad and I even _killed_ someone!" Irwin snapped angrily. His face was getting redder by the minute.

"Irwin, calm down. You're getting drunk," warned Phil, grasping Irwin's shoulder.

"You didn't kill anyone, Irwin. No one did. It was an accident and nobody is blaming anyone," I tried to explain to him.

"Of course it was my fault! If I didn't suggest something so stupid like playing that damn ouji board in some abandon mind in the first place, then Jack wouldn't have died!" He stood up from his chair, glaring me.

"Irwin! Michael!" Phil called us in a demanding tone. "Calm down! You guys are making a scene."

Irwin glared at me while I stared back at him, we didn't say anything for a while until Irwin broke the silent.

"I'm leaving," he said. Then he put down some money on the table and walked out the door.

I tried to call him, but he only ignored me, so I watched his downcast back as he walked away, feeling worried about him. There wasn't much I could do to help my friend at all. I can only pray that one day, Irwin would be able to forgive himself.

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**~Jack O'Lantern's POV~**

As Irwin walked down the streets, I was following behind him with my wisps hovering around me. I was in the bar where Irwin and the others were in earlier and heard their conversation. When I found out that Irwin hadn't been doing so good after my death, I became worried. He didn't look like he used to and I don't mean by him growing up kinda look. He used to be beaming with confidence and energy, but now he's just... pitiful.

I've been keeping an eye on Mikey for a few days, because I was hoping to see Irwin and Phil as well. My patience paid off and Mikey finally met up with the guys tonight.

Frost had also been coming to check up on me everyday. He would come and ask me to go hang out and play with the kids. I found out that the kids can see and hear him, which I should've figured out on the first time I saw him. It didn't bother me that the kids can't see me since I was fine having just my sister seeing me.

When Irwin arrived at his apartment, my wisps and I stayed outside, watching him through the window. I could see him walking to his couch and taking out a cigarette. Then he took out a lighter from his pocket and began flicking that tiny little container.

I can't believe he's smoking! I can handle him drinking, but becoming a drunkard was one thing I don't approve of. Now he's smoking! I hated the smell of cigarettes and smoke, so seeing him smoking really pissed me off. Does he want lung cancer or something?

When he lit up his lighter and was about to burn the tip of the cigarette, I blew out the flames with a snap of my fingers. Irwin looked annoyed and tried to lit up the lighter again, but I made sure he couldn't.

No way bro. No friend of mine was going to get lung cancer!

He kept flicking and flicking the lighter. The wisps were giggling like crazy at this. They found his hopeless attempts pretty hilarious. When he couldn't get his lighter to light properly, he threw the lighter at the wall in anger. The wisps gasped in surprise and hid behind my head.

"Stupid piece of crap!" He cried angrily.

He crumpled up his cigarette and threw it on the floor as well before storming into the kitchen. I could see what he was doing from the window, but I could hear the sound of a fridge opening and the clanking of glasses. Then he came back into the room with a bottle of beer in hand.

Oh, this is just great! So if he's not going to get lung cancer, he'll destroy his liver instead! Where did the Irwin I know went? This guy was nothing but an idiotic helpless and pitiful excuse for a man! If he's going to be an idiot then why am I stopping him?

"Stupid Irwin! Let's go, guys! We're leaving!" I snapped. I was so mad at Irwin that I flew off in anger. My wisps followed behind me without any noise at all. Probably worried. I didn't care where I was going. I just wanted to let the wind blow out my steam.

"Lantern? Lantern!" I heard someone calling me. I knew right away who it was since only _he_ would call me that weird nickname.

My wisps and I stopped flying and hovered in the air looking for the snow white hair guy. Frost came flying up to me with his magical hook staff that can freeze almost anything.

"Hey, Frost," I replied. My wisps also greeted him in chatters.

"Where're you off in a hurry?" he asked.

"Just getting some fresh air," I answered with a rough tone.

Frost could tell that I wasn't in a good mood from my tone of voice and the worried look on my wisps's face, so he asked worriedly. "Are you okay? Did something happened?"

"It's a pretty long story to explain," I told him.

"I have all night to spare some time," he smiled.

Since Frost was insisted to listen to my problem, we went to find a place to sit and talk, which was on a roof of a building complex. I told him about how my friends and I went into the mines several years ago and caused it to collapse, which was how I died. Even though, I can't remember everything that happened in the mine due to my trauma, so I had moments where I just skip, but I still remembered the ouija board and the dynamite.

Frost was a good listener, because he didn't interrupt me throughout the story. The wisps, on the other hand, were playing among themselves, not interested in my story. They could at least show some interest about me since I _did_ created them.

When I told him what I found out about how my friends were doing after that incident and how I was worried about Irwin, he rubbed his chin as he was having a deep thought.

"So the guy is blaming himself for causing your death, right?" he asked for assurance.

"Yeah. I wish I could talk to him somehow. I want him to stop blaming himself for something he didn't cause. It was a stupid accident and no one could predict it happening," I explained. "I wish I can give him a message or something. Too bad there isn't a phone line for the dead."

"But the guy can dream!" said Frost, excitedly.

"Dream? Of course, the guy can dream. Anybody can dream. I don't know why you would... wait a minute... are you saying I can talk to him in his dream?" I asked when I started to realize what Frost meant by 'dream.'

"Of course! And who has the ability to control people's dreams?" He asked even though he already knew the answer.

"Sandy!" I cried in realization. Why didn't I think of that? How many stories have I heard about dead people sending their messages to the living through dreams? It was so obvious! Not to mention, we know the Guardian of Dreams. The guy who creates dreams himself!

This time, the wisps stopped what they were doing and stared at us, wondering what was going on. This was why you guys should've listened!

"Come on then! Let's go find the Sandman," urged Frost.

The wisps cheered excitedly upon hearing that we'll visit Sandy.

"But how do we find him? He's not even in the country," I reminded him.

The wisps looked disappointed and made an _Awwwww_ sound.

"What else? Find the trail of glowing sand! How hard could it be?"

* * *

It took us _sixteen hours_ to find the floating stream of sand in five continents. It definitely was _hard_. We were completely exhausted when we finally found a trail of sand in the sky. My wisps already went into the lantern after the first two hours. The little guys couldn't endure that long trip of flying.

When we finally found Sandy, creating dreams in Europe, the guardian of dreams looked surprised to see us.

"Hey, Sandy," I greeted him with a very tired voice. I was breathing pretty hard so I sat down on an open space on his small sandy island.

"Hiya, Sandy," Frost also greeted him. He also looked as tired as me and used his staff to lean on.

Sandy smiled and bowed as his way of greeting us.

Then the wisps, that's been resting in the lantern all this time, came rushing out and swarmed around Sandy while greeting him excitedly. They really missed the little man a lot.

Sandy waved at the wisps and smiled warmly at them. Then he made a question mark sand figure over his head as if asking 'What's up?'

"Guys, calm down," I told the wisps, which they went silent immediately. "Sandy, I kinda need your help with something. Is it alright if I ask for a favor?" I asked Sandy, hopefully.

Sandy smiled and gave me a thumps up as if he was saying 'Of course!' He agreed without even listening to what I had to ask him to do. Why are you so nice, Sandy?

"Really? Thank you so much! You're the best, Sandy!" I thanked him, overjoyed. The wisps also joined in by bouncing around and cheering loudly.

"So you free right now?" Frost asked Sandy. "We'll explain Lantern's situation on the way to Blacksburg."

Then there was a question mark and an old fashion lantern sand figure over Sandy's head.

"That's what I call him," explained Frost, pointing towards me.

"And I call him 'Frost'," I added. "So we don't get each other mixed up. It was kinda weird calling each other Jack."

So Sandy nodded that he understood.

"So... should we head back tomorrow? I'm seriously exhausted," said Frost, sitting beside me.

"I vote tomorrow. I'm too dead tired," I agreed and lay down on the sand. Then I noticed the look on Sandy's face. "Why are you smiling like that, Sandy?"

All of a sudden, Sandy twirled his hands together and gathered a bunch of sand in his palms. Frost, the wisps, and I looked around as the sand began to swirl around us. In the matter of seconds, Sandy conjured up a small ship with a tall sail from his sand

"Woah," I exclaimed in awe at the ship. It was amazing! The ship looked like those old pirate ships I see in my history books and it looked like it was made of gold due to the golden sand. The ship was pretty big and the sail was probably more than twenty feet tall.

_Oooooooooo_ The wisps stared at the ship up and down.

"I didn't know Sandy can make a ship?" I exclaimed.

"Neither did I," Frost said beside me.

Sandy was at the steering wheel at the back of the ship. He conjured up a captain's hat and placed it on his head. Now that everything was ready, Sandy grasped the steering wheel and whirled it around. And we were off, sailing through the starry night sky.

* * *

**~ Irwin's POV~**

Damn it! Ran out of beer again!

I slammed the fridge's door shut in anger. Almost broke the thing right off too. Wished I really did. Stupid fridge!

Since there's no beer left in god damn fridge, then I'll smoke instead. I need to calm my mind or I might break something again like that annoying alarm clock last week. I ended up having to buy a new one so I could get to my job on time.

Then I heard the phone ringing on the counter. It rang for a few good long seconds until it switched to the voice message recorder. A guy's voice, which was the voice recording machine, could be heard from the kitchen as I walked into the living room

[Please leave a message after the beep.]

_Beep!_

[Irwin, this is your mother. I know you haven't been replying to any of our messages, but at least listen to this one. I want to know if you're coming over for the holidays. It's been a really long time since you visited us. I'm worried for you, sweaty. Your father as well. We really want you to come over, so please think about it.]

I walked to my couch, ignoring the message, and fell onto the smelly and stiff cushion exhaustedly. My hand shook as I pulled out my cigarette box and grabbed a cigarette. I also got out my new lighter since my old one didn't work properly. With a flick, a small flame appeared. Thank god, it worked!

[I know you're still upset about _that_ incident, but it was an accident. We don't blame you, sweetheart. No one does. Your father and I really want you to come over. We really miss you. Please think about it. Love you, sweaty.]

_Beep!_

As I breathed in the smoke from the tiny burning tube, my mind finally started to feel lighter. I looked at the window as snow was falling again. It was another tough day today. I had a fight with my coworker again and got badly scolded by my boss. The big guy threatened me that if my attitude doesn't change, I'll lose my job. That nosy good for nothing piece of crap!

So what if I snap at people a lot. I can't help it when I get angry. Sure, I can't really control my emotions that well, but why do they have to make a huge deal about it? Why does the world feel like crap? Why did Jack have to die? Why did I have to come up with that stupid and idiotic game?!

I sat on the couch and smoked for awhile until I mashed the now short cigarette in the ashtray. I continued to sit there to who knows how long, recalling the good old past that I once had.

I remembered how I met Jack the first time in kindergarten. That guy was a prankster since he was a kid. He appeared before me like a monkey. Basically, he hung down from a tree branch, upside down, and cried "BOO!" He scared the pants off of me. Then somehow, we started to play together a lot at school. Even after class, we still stick together.

Then there was out first Halloween together. Jack dressed up as a scarecrow with a pumpkin as a head and he would go around scaring the other kids. I would follow behind in a Dracula costume, fake blood and everything. Just remembering those times made me chuckle. It's a good thing I can still laugh even when I'm in this state. The old memories was the only thing that made me happy, but at the same time, the most miserable.

I didn't know when I drifted off to sleep, but I started to dream that I was a kid again and even Jack was there.

We were in front of a huge colorful tent, no doubt a circus tent, and Jack ran towards it excitedly. This Jack looked younger and shorter like the time when he was in third grade. I don't know how nor did I care, but I also knew I was back to being nine years old, too.

"Come on, Irwin! The shows about to start!" The child version of Jack called to me.

"Wait up!" I quickly followed him.

Jack already disappeared into the tent and I ran after him. But when I entered through the entrance, it was pitch dark inside. I couldn't see anything.

"Jack?" I called out, walking into the darkness. "Jack!"

There was no reply.

I started to feel nervous from the strange emptiness in the darkness, but I continued to walk into it. While I called Jack again and again, there was only silence.

All of a sudden, the darkness started to change into a tunnel. The walls were turning into earth and rocks. For some reason, I felt like this place was very familiar. Then I saw light at the end of the tunnel and I ran towards it. I kept running and running until I came into a large open space. I immediately realized that this was the old abandon mine in the forest. I also felt like my body got taller, so I looked at myself and found out that my body grew and my clothes changed to my sports jacket. The same one I wore back in high school.

Then I noticed the rays from the moonlight coming through the opening in the ceiling, shinning upon a board in the center of the room. I didn't know why, but my body started to walk up towards the board on its own. When I got closer, I gasped in shock. It was a ouija board. The very same one that my friends and I played with.

"No..." I stared at the board in horror. The nightmare was coming back. The horrible reminder of the past that I wished never happened was right before me.

_Boom! _

There was a loud explosion and the whole place shook. Exactly like in the past. The place was falling down. Rocks, earth, and plank woods were raining down on me. My legs were frozen and I couldn't move. My brain screamed for my legs to move, but they didn't budge.

When I felt a shadow was cast over me, I looked up and saw a large boulder falling towards me.

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" I screamed. I quickly closed my eyes and ducked while covering my head with my arms for protection.

Then I felt a gust of warm wind blowing around me. I opened my eyes and I saw fire swirling around me like a tornado. I stared at the flame flowing around me in shock. Where did this fire come from?

The fire wasn't hot at all even though it was so close to me. The wind was gentle and warm. The light didn't burn my eyes, but it felt gentle and beautiful. While I stared at the fire flowing around me, I had this feeling that someone was watching me. So whenI turned around, I my mind was in shock and my mouth fell open.

"Jack?" I said unconsciously. I couldn't believe what I was seeing.

Standing a few feet in front of me was Jack. He looked just like the last time I saw him. The last time I ever talked to him. The very same appearance before he died. Since this was my dream, I guess it was possible for Jack to appear. Even though this was a dream, why does it feel like he was really standing before me?

"Jack?" I called. I could hear my voice shaking and my eyes burning as tears started to flow down my cheeks. "I'm sorry... I'm so sorry, Jack." I lost it and cried out all the misery that I held for so many years. The pain, the guilt, and the sadness I held inside of me came flowing out non stop. "I'm sorry! I never should've suggested going to that mine! I never should've played with that damn cursed board! It was all my fault! I'm sorry, Jack! I'm SO sorry! It was my fault you died!"

My legs suddenly went weak and I fell onto my knees as I released all my emotions. My tears kept flowing down more and more without any sign of stopping.

"I'm so sorry... Can you ever forgive me?" I stared pitifully at Jack, hoping for forgiveness from the boy I took his life away.

Jack stared at me with an annoyed look on his face. "Why should I forgive you..."

I felt like something was stabbing my chest. I stared down at the ground, too ashamed to look at the ghost of my childhood friend.

"...when I wasn't even mad at you in the first place?"

I looked up in surprise when I heard what he said. He looked at me with a warm smile with his hands on his waist. Then he walked up to me and kneeled in front of me so our eyes were on the same level.

"There's nothing for me to forgive," he spoke. Then he pointed at me. "But it's you who needs to forgive yourself."

I looked at him in amazement and confusion.

Jack patted my shoulder before I could say anything else. "Come on, Irwin. Don't blame yourself over something you didn't do. It wasn't like you knew it was going to happen. Get back on your feet and move on! Go back to being that cool kid that I remember back in high school, alright?" he said with an encouraging grin. "No more smoking either. Drinking I'm fine, but have a damn limit! I don't want to catch my friend dying from lung cancer or liver failure, got it?"

For some reason, I didn't feel annoyed from getting scolded from Jack. Actually, I was really glad. Even though this Jack was made from my dream, it felt like I was really talking to the real Jack again. It was so like Jack to get worried. He always hated smokers and drunkers.

Then I noticed that Jack's body began to fade away. The flames around us also started to disappear.

"Jack? Wait! Don't go!" I cried out while trying to grab him, but my hands only went through his body. No matter how much I tried to keep him from disappearing, he just kept fading away before my eyes.

"It's alright, Irwin," he said to me in an assuring tone. "Just be happy and live your life..."

"Or I'll seriously be pissed at you."

I can no longer see him now. He was completely gone. Even though I couldn't see him, I could still make out amusement in his tone when he scolded me again.

And then everything around me disappeared.

* * *

_Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!_

I woke up from the sound of my alarm clock going off in my bedroom. My whole body ached from sleeping on the couch again.

"Ugh..." I groaned and stretched my arms. When I got up to go shut that noisy alarm clock, I felt something falling off my body and I looked down, confused. It was a blanket. When did I grab a blanket last night?

I shook my head to clear my mind. Then I started to recall my dream last night. I remembered it clearly. For some reason, I felt something heavy inside of me was lifted. The gloominess and the guilt was gone. Never have I felt so... relieved. In my dream, Jack may not have told me what I wanted to hear, but he told what I needed to hear.

And he told me off real good.

I stared at the blanket on the ground and then at the frost covered window with snow lying on the window sill. The sun light was shinning through the glass window, telling me that it was already morning. I could hear cars and trucks running on the street below. People were talking and laughing loudly. Bells and singing could also be heard in the distance.

Suddenly, I remembered something. It was almost Christmas. Then I realized what I should be doing. I walked into the kitchen and grabbed the phone on the counter. I dialed a number that I haven't dialed for so long. While I listened to the phone ringing on the other side, I heard a click and then followed by a voice that I knew well.

[Hello?]

"Mom, it's me. Irwin..."

* * *

Thank you for reading. Please comment or leave feedback or suggestions.

Such a touching moment. I thought I was gonna cry at the last part. That was my favorite part of all in this chapter.

Now that we know how Lantern's friends are doing now, I'm going to start getting more into the plot of the story.


	10. Chapter 8 Eve Before Christmas

******Disclaimer: I do not own the ROTG universe or its original characters. This story is written within the ROTG universe. The rest of the characters belong to me.**

* * *

**Chapter 8: Eve Before Christmas**

The roofs were covered in small red, green, and blue lights. The doors have beautiful holiday wreaths hanging in the front. Snowmen standing in front yards in almost every house. People singing carols from house to house. Men dressed in a Santa Claus costume while ringing bells for charity. Do you know what that means? It's almost Christmas!

Today was Christmas Eve, so that meant Christmas was tomorrow! Everyone was excited for this wonderful holiday. Especially me!

I went over to my old house to play with Abby and Frost also came over to hand out with us as well.

"Snowball!" I shouted and threw a snowball at Frost, who just arrived here.

_Splat!_

Right in the face!

Frost fell flat onto the snow without realizing it. While I was laughing at my success of hitting the lord of the snow with a snowball, Frost got up with very annoyed look on his face. Then seconds later, his frown slowly turned upside down into a sneer. Uh oh...

_Splat! Splat!_

Before I got my guard up, I was hit in the face and chest by his snowballs and fell into the pile of snow with a _poof!_ First rule to remember about a snowball fight, never underestimate your opponent. Especially, if the guy can make snow with his staff.

As you can already see, Frost and I have been doing great together. Since the time he helped me with my problem with Irwin, my suspicion of him was completely gone. The guy was awesome and fun to hang out with. Even my wisps didn't feel wary of him anymore. They would even play around with him... Unless, you can consider 'trying to burn his sweater to see whether it was fire proof or not' playing.

Talking about the wisps, they were laughing hysterically as they watched Frost and I mashed each other with snowballs. We were almost completely covered from head to toe from snow.

"Go Pumpkin! Go Snowfwake!" My sister, Abby, cheered from the side.

"Snowflake?" Frost stared at her, confused.

_Splat! Splat!_

"Ha! Two hits!" I cried victoriously. "I know your JackFrost and everything, but don't _freeze_ up during a battle!" I teased.

"Ha ha very funny," Frost said sarcastically, wiping the snow from his shoulder. "What did your sister just call me?"

"Snowflake," I answered.

"Snowflake?" He looked at me, incredibly.

"Yeah, Snowflake. What? You have a problem with my sister nicknaming you?" I sneered.

He stared at me and returned a playful sneer as well. "Oh no, I'm quite honored to receive such a _maaaaarvelous_ name. But it can't be as _faaaaabulous_ as 'Pumpkin,' am I correct?" He said in some weird british accent while making hand gestures to go with it.

I laughed at his accent so hard I had to hold my stomach in pain. If anyone can die from laughter, I was getting there.

My sister, on the other hand, was getting cold when a gust of wind blew passed her.

"Brrrrrr! Cowd!" she shivered. Immediately, the wisps swarmed around her closely, creating warmth for her. "Ooooooo! Waaaaaarrrrmmm..."

"Nice quick thinking, guys!" I complimented them.

The wisps babbled happily.

_Splat!_

Right on the side of the face!

"Don't get distracted!" told Frost. "Or are you _burned_ out already."

"Second round is _SO_ on!" I shouted back at him.

And a second battle of snowball fighting commenced.

* * *

For the rest of the day, we all played around in the yard like who can make the biggest and baddest snowman contest. Then we had a ride through Frost's personally made ice roller coaster around the house. I also made my own personal show called _Beasts on Fire_ Show, which I named it on the spot. I basically made several kinds of animal with my fire and let them run or fly around. I've been practicing a lot, so now I can even make more variety of animals. Abby loved the fire rabbits and fire squirrels. Of course, I couldn't resist making a fire lion and made it chased Frost around.

"What the snowballs?! Lantern!" He yelled while flying away from the fire lion.

Everybody, besides Frost, laughed like crazy.

That's when I heard a voice coming from the kitchen door.

"Abby? Who're you playing with?" I heard my mom asking from behind the door.

I could sense that she will open the door soon and I panicked.

"Guys! Hide!" I quickly shouted at the wisps.

The wisps quickly dispersed and hid in who knows where. Then my mom opened the door and peaked her head outside.

"Sweat heart? I thought you were playing with someone," wondered my mom, looking around, confused.

"I'm playing with Pumpkin and Snowfwake," told Abby.

Suddenly, Frost asked me, "Why do you need to hide your wisps? It's not like she can see them, right?"

"Of course, she can. There are some people who can see my wisps, including my dad. It depends on how much people believe in the... unexplainable," I explained. "That's why I have to be careful sometimes."

"Oh, gotcha," Frost nodded in understanding.

On my mom's side, she looked confused at Abby's reply. "Pumpkin and Snowflake?... Alright, sweaty," my mom said in an amused tone. She must've thought that Abby made up a new game or something. "Don't forget that daddy will be picking us up soon. We'll be going to the mall to see Santa Claus, so come inside and get ready."

"Yay! Santy Cwaus!" cheered Abby, excitedly. Then she darted into the door.

So now only Frost and I were left. Oh and the wisps, too. Almost forgot them since they were hiding. Once my mom was gone, they started to come out of their hiding places and flew towards me.

"Does your mom mean those people who dress up as North and _pretend_ to listen to the kids' wishes? I still wonder how North puts up with fakers like them every year," wondered Frost.

"North? You mean Santa Claus?" I asked, confused. "The real deal?"

"Yep. North goes by a lot of names, but he prefers to be called North," Frost explained. "North's really awesome, but he sometimes become a _little_ kiddish and competitive sometimes. You should've seen how me and the other guardians went on teeth gathering for Tooth. It was crazy!"

"So you know the other Guardians? I guess it shouldn't be a surprise. Also, why were you guys gathering teeth for? Isn't that the tooth fairy's job?" I wondered.

"Well... there was a _complication_," he began to explain. "And that complication was Pitch Black."

Again, Pitch Black. Why does his name seem to pop up a lot? Why do I feel like I heard the name before?

Frost began to tell me how Pitch Black tried to control all the kids' dreams and hope with nightmare and fear. He invaded the Tooth Palace, where the Tooth Fairy lived, and took all the Mini Fairies, the Tooth Fairy's helpers, and teeth. This caused the kids to lose their belief in the Tooth Fairy when their teeth weren't taken and replaced with gifts. That's when North came up with the idea to gather the teeth themselves, which caused a messy competitive race among the guardians.

I laughed like crazy when he told me how each of them tried to mess with each other during the race like when Frost fell into a hole that the easter bunny made and how the very same bunny lit a fireplace and blew up North when he came down the chimney. Then when the tooth fairy reminded them about leaving gifts, they had to go to a laundromat to get coins and go back to the houses to place the gifts under the pillow. That's when another competition rose. They started to leave their own gifts to see who can leave better gifts. I thought the idea that North left a whole christmas tree with gifts to go with it when it wasn't even close to Christmas was freaking hilarious!

Oh the pain from laughing too much... I need to breathe!

"So what happened to Pitch?" I asked once I could breathe through my laughter.

"We defeated him... with some help from a group of kids. We couldn't have defeated him if those kids didn't stand up to him. I also became an official Guardian afterwards," he said proudly.

"Wow, that sounds awesome. I wish I could meet the other guardians," I thought.

"You can!" Frost cried out. "Did you forget what tomorrow is?"

"Of course! Christmas! Santa will be delivering the gifts tonight!" I realized.

"And that's when you have a better chance of meeting him," Frost added.

"Oh my god! I can't wait for tonight!" Now I'm all hyped up to meet Santa. The real deal this time! Why couldn't night come fast enough?

* * *

It was now night fall. Abby was already asleep from all her excitement at the mall and exhausted herself. That little girl went crazy after a scoop of mint ice cream. She ran around the toy store yelling "TOYS!" and chattered like crazy with the pretend Santa Claus. It took my parents twenty minutes to pull her away so the other kids could have a go with the guy in the red suit.

Frost and I also had our own version of having fun at the mall. Frost froze some drinks at this cafe and some unlucky customers had their lips stuck to the glass for several minutes. He even froze the water fountain and nobody felt suspicious at all. They thought it was part of the mall's attraction for the holidays and praised it as a work of art. Then he froze a small area on the floor and caused people to slip and trip like crazy. Even a guy lost his wig when he fell backwards. Huh... why does that guy look familiar?*

For me, I found a candle store and lit up all the candles, causing the store workers into confusion while trying to put out the flames. At the toy store, I grabbed some freaky monster figurines and chased some kids around the store. Since I was invisible, all the kids saw were floating monster figurines so the kids were screaming in fear as they ran for their life. When some adult came to check on them, I immediately drop the figurines and left no trace of floating monsters. I also snuck a whole bag of popcorn kernels into the popcorn machine when the worker wasn't looking. Within five minutes, the popcorn machine went nuts and a pile of popcorn came flooding out. Free popcorn!

My wisps also had their fun, but then got chased around by a savage chihuahua that was in this old ladies purse. I had to be careful with them since who knows who can see them. Kids, I don't mind them seeing the wisps, but there were a few adults who can see them too. Luckily, they thought it was their own imagination or part of the mall's decoration.

After spending a few hours at the mall, my family finally went home. Abby was completely exhausted after all that fun and immediately fell asleep in the car. My dad had to carry her to her room and put her to bed.

I was on the roof of my old house with Frost and my wisps. I was still full of energy and excitement while staring at the sky, hoping to see a sleigh of reindeers flying around.

"You're just like a kid getting all excited to meet Santa Claus," joked Frost while petting a wisp that was on his shoulder. The wisp purred happily.

"How can I not be?! I used to think Santa wasn't real when I was alive. I stopped believing when I got into middle school. Now to find out that he really does exist makes it so awesome!" I cried out excitedly. "I can't wait to meet him!"

The wisps also looked excited as they bounced around in the air happily.

"Well, you won't have to be waiting for long," he said. "He should be arriving any minute now."

Then right on cue, I heard a loud _Boom!_ in the distance and I quickly turned around, staring in the direction where the loud explosion came from.

"And there he is. The Guardian of Wonders has arrived," Frost announced.

A large sleigh pulled by several tough looking reindeers, came flying out of the sky and headed towards my neighborhood.

"He's here!" I shouted excitedly and quickly jetted towards him. Frost and the wisps followed close behind. I spotted the sleigh landing on a roof of a house and I quickly flew faster to not miss the man of Christmas himself. I could make out a large man in red and black getting off the sleigh and jumping into the chimney.

"Lantern, let's give him a little surprise," suggested Frost when he caught up to me.

"Sounds like a great plan," I agreed.

Frost told me his plan while we flew. When we reached the sleigh, we hid on the side while waiting for the large man in red. The sleigh was so big and looked so cool! It looked like it was combined with a jet. There was a globe at the front and large sack of presents in the back. After waiting for short while...

_Poof!_

The old man came popping out of the chimney while humming _Santa Claus Is Coming to Town_ as he walked up to his sleigh.

When he was getting on the vehicle, I quietly conjured up some fire to form several mice and sent them scurrying onto the sleigh. The old man didn't notice anything when he got on and continued to hum his song. When he sat down, that's when one of my fire mouse appeared on the globe in front of him.

"Hmm? Vat do ve have here?" He said in a Russian accent.

Santa was Russian?

While the old man looked closer at the fire mouse curiously, two more popped up beside it.

"Vhat in zhe vorld!" He exclaimed in surprised. Then he looked around and there was even more fire mice around him, squeaking loudly. "Ratz! Ratz everyvhere!" He shouted. He tried to chased them away but it didn't work very well. "Scram! You little vermin!"

Frost, the wisps, and I were trying to hold our laughter as much as possible, but even our voices still leaked out.

"Who's zhere?" We heard the old man shouted. Then I heard some kind of weird sound like a sword being unsheathed.

"North! It's me, Jack Frost." Frost got up with his hands in the air and a staff in one of his hand.

My wisps and I also got up with him while I was still clutching my mouth to prevent from exploding from laughter. I think I still need another minute to calm down.

"Jack? Vhat you doing here?" North asked in surprised. In both of his hands were two swords.

Santa can use swords? In which legend?

North put down his swords and that's when he noticed me. "And who's your friend?" he asked Frost.

"I'm Jack O. Lanternson," I introduced myself. "And these guys here are my wisps," pointing to the wisps. They babbled in greeting.

"He's also a newborn spirit," Frost added.

"I'm not that _new_. I'm already more than half a years old in spirit age," I argued.

"New born spirit, aye?" North bent down and stared at me while touching his beard. He stared at me for awhile before he jumped up with his hands in the air, excitedly. "Zhis calls for celebration!"

"Huh?"

_Huh?_

My wisps and I looked at the old man, puzzled.

"I'm North. Guardian of Vonders," North introduced himself, holding out a hand for a shake.

"Yeah, I know. Frost told me about you." I took it and the old man shook my hand very roughly. Wow, for an old man, he sure has a lot of strength.

"Ve must invite every guardian! Ve shall party at me vorkshop tomorrow!" He announced, happily. "I still have vork to do, so I'll have me yetis pick you up tomorrow afternoon. So be ready."

He sat down on his sleigh and grabbed the reins. "Heeya!" He whipped the reins and the deers stomped heavy on the roof before they ran into the air. "See ya later, me friends!"

And the sleigh flew into the sky towards their next destination.

"Wow, that old man has more energy than I thought," I commented.

"You should see him when he fights," Frost said with his arms crossed. "By the way, why did you give him a handshake, but not me?"

"Different circumstances," I answered.

"Different circumstances? How was it different?" he demanded.

"I was still mad at you back then."

"Not my fault."

"You shot me and attacked me and my wisps."

"Touche."

Now that our argument was over, I remembered about the sudden party tomorrow.

"Oh my god! I can't believe I'm going to North's workshop!" I cried out excitedly. "By the way, did he say _yetis_?"

"Yep! For your information, they're the real toys makers, not the elves," he stated.

"What?" I stared at him in disbelief.

First, I found out Santa was Russian. Second, the old man can wield swords. Now, the yetis make the toys? My life was a lie!

"Uh... he did mention about inviting the other guardians, right? So does that mean I'll get to meet the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy? " I asked Frost. I bet my eyes were twinkling like crazy.

"I guess, but they're usually busy most of the time. You know, egg painting and teeth gathering kinda stuff. But they might have time to come to celebrate your... _rebirth_ as a spirit. Like I said before, it's not every century that a spirit is born," he told me.

"Great! Now I can't wait for tomorrow!" I cried.

_Yay! Yipee! Yahoo!_

The wisps bounced around in the air like crazy as well. They were as excited as me for the party tomorrow.

Why couldn't tomorrow come sooner?

* * *

Thank you for reading. Please comment or leave feedback or suggestions.

* Wig guy in the park from Chapter 6, if you guys don't remember.

If you guys notice that this chapter didn't have much happening, it because while editing this chapter, it got kinda too long for one chapter so I had to split it in half. Lantern will be meeting the rest of the guardians next chapter, so wait and see how it will go.

Also, I just finish making Jack O. Lanternson's ref sheet. Check it out at my DeviantArt account through my profile page. I can't seem to post a link here for some odd reason.


	11. Chapter 9 Sacked by Guardian of Wonders

**Disclaimer: I do not own the ROTG universe or its original characters. This story is written within the ROTG universe. The rest of the characters belong to me.**

**I finally finished my other writing project in DeviantArt, so now I'll be writing more of this fanfic again. Need to save up some chapters when I get into this kind of situation again where I can't write the fanfic for awhile, but at least still able to post every week. I know how torturous it is to wait for new updates, but don't know when they will be posted and end up waiting for months for the new updates. I don't want to do that to any of my readers since I went through this myself many times and still do. **

**Now enjoy!**

Edit: Grammar correction. Thank you for pointing out

* * *

**Chapter 9: Sacked by Guardian of Wonders**

Christmas morning's here! Today's the party, but North said he'll pick Frost and I up in the afternoon, so I spent the morning watching people celebrate Christmas with their families. Frost also joined me around noon. We goofed around for awhile, waiting for the time the yetis were supposed to come pick us up. We were waiting in the forest in front of my place under the oak tree.

"So this is where you live?" Frost stared at the tree.

"Yeah, but it's inside that hole, not in the tree," I pointed out.

Frost stared at the hole and then looked inside. "Kinda dark."

"Here, I show you inside," I bent over and went into the tunnel. I pushed the curtain to the side and entered the room. Frost followed behind me and when he came in, he looked around.

"Nice place," he complimented.

"Yep, I was lucky to find it," I agreed. "Took me and the wisps awhile to put this place together. That's the bed over there. I used pine leaves to make it and covered it with blankets and sheet that I found for the bedding. I also found some pillows that were thrown away, but still usable. The table and seats are made from the rocks that were already here. I even carved into the earth between the tree roots to make some shelves," I explained about how I made the place.

Like what I said, I dug some space in the earth between the roots on the wall to make shelves to put stuff on. I don't have that much stuff, but I sometimes pick up things I like. For example, a jar of marbles, a small wooden box with pretty designs carved on the outside, some bags of candy, and my pumpkin mask.

"By the way, I don't see your wisps around. Where are they?" Frost asked, wondering what happened to my little fireballs.

"They're inside the lantern," I pointed to the lantern that was hanging from my pole that I was holding. "They're resting after this morning's prank on a couple of dogs. They'll probably come out once we're at North's workshop. They've been excited all morning."

Then I realized something.

"Wait, so how are we supposed to get to the North Pole?" I wondered. Can Yetis drive a sleigh? Since they can make toys, maybe they can drive as well.

Suddenly, we heard something coming from outside.

"It's probably the yetis," Frost thought, so we went back outside.

When we came out of the hole, I saw two large hairy creatures standing before us.

"You guys must be the yetis," I thought, looking at them up and down. They were very hairy creatures with a ponytail and long mustaches and eyebrows.

The two yetis nodded with some grunts in confirmation.

"Hey guys!" Frost greeted them with a wave.

That's when I noticed a large sack in one of their hands.

"What's the sack for?" I asked curiously.

"Oh no..." Frost groaned in dismay for some reason.

"What?" I looked at Frost, confused.

And that's when I found out what the sack was for.

The yetis grabbed us by our hoods and threw us into the sack.

"Whoa! Hey!" I cried in shock. It was dark and cramped in there, especially when putting two teenagers inside one small sack.

"I told North I hate this!" I heard Frost shouting.

"Ow! Stop kicking me!"

"Stop shoving me then!"

"It's kinda hard not to."

"Hey! Where do you think you're touching?!"

"It's not like I want to!"

"God! Get off me!"

"OW! Did you just elbowed me?!"

"Maybe."

Then I heard a loud _Boom!_ and I felt like I was hurled into the air.

"Whoa!"

"Aaah!"

We both cried in shock. Then we hit the hard ground painfully. "OW!"

My whole body was aching from that crash. When I felt the sack loosening, Frost and I both couldn't crawl out fast enough. Oh the fresh air! When I finally got out of the sack, I looked around and I was speechless.

The whole place was HUGE! This place wasn't a workshop. It's a factory! The building was large dome shape room with many floors and a gigantic globe in the center. It's the biggest globe I've ever seen! The globe had million of these bright yellow dots on the part that represent the continents. There were hundreds of yetis walking around on all the floors. Since today was Christmas, the yetis didn't have work to do. It's a holiday after all.

In the air, there were several colorful flying objects flying around. Some looked like jellyfish, blimps, UFOs, and planes. They were amazing!

Then I heard shuffling on the ground and when I looked down, I found several tiny elves walking all around me. They wore what looked like a red pointy hat with a bell dangling at the tip. They were all over the place! Some of them were either carrying toys or screwing around with them. I found one driving a tiny car, that looked like one of those remote control cars, around me before zooming away. I had to be careful not to step on them by accident.

"I thought the yetis make the toys, not the elves," I cried out, very confused at my knowledge right now.

"They don't, but North lets them believe they do," explained Frost.

"Velcome boys!" I heard a Russian accent voice from behind, so we turned around and there was North standing in front of a large fireplace with three other figures. It seemed like where we were standing on was a large hall that opened up to the globe room and the guardians were standing on the opposite side of the hall from Frost and I. "Especially, you, Mr. Lanternson. I hope you enjoyed zhe trip."

"Oh, it was _great_. It was a lot of fun being shoved in a sack with no air supply and almost crushed in the process," I said sarcastically.

"Good! Jack Frost here also enjoyed it on his first time as vell," North smiled happily.

I stared at Frost in disbelief.

Frost quickly shook his head to show that it wasn't true at all.

Then I looked at the other figures standing beside North and I recognized one of the figures right away. It was Sandy. Apparently, he was asleep while floating in the air again.

"So this here kid is the new spirit, aye?" said a very large rabbit in an Australian accent. Never have I seen such a large rabbit! In fact, I don't think rabbits were supposed to come in that size! I could also tell by his voice that it was a male. The large rabbit was standing on its hind legs and in his hands... or paws was an egg and paintbrush. He was painting an egg. On his arms were some kind of wooden wrist armor. His fur had these tribal markings and patterns on his fur. Interesting... There was also a strap across his chest and behind him were two large boomerangs. I can pretty much guess he's the Easter Bunny. Who would've thought the Easter Bunny was Australian and was as tall as a grown man. I'm learning new things everyday.

"Hi there! I'm so excited to meet you. When North told us that a new spirit was born, I just had to see you," said a very colorful and feathery lady, very enthusiastically. This was going to be kinda hard to describe. Her whole body was covered in colorful feathers that reminded me of peacocks and hummingbirds mixed together and I don't mean like she's wearing feathered clothing. It's like the feathers were part of her body. Unlike Frost and I that can fly without any use of anything, the feathery woman was flying in the air with the use of her wings, which were transparent and it was fluttering so fast that they were all blurred out like dragonfly wings.

And flying around her, were several mini-me version of her, except... they were _extra_ tiny. They looked like humming birds, but also humanlike. They were squeaking to each other excitedly, which from my experience with my wisps, they might be talking about me.

If the feathery woman was the Tooth Fairy, which I had no doubt she was, then these little hummingbirds must be her helpers that Frost told me about. Suddenly, one of the fairies separated from the group and came flying towards Frost, squeaking cheerfully.

"Hey, Baby Tooth. Miss me?" Frost greeted it and let it sit on his shoulder. From the look of how close they were, this mini fairy must be the one that was with Frost during the fight with Pitch. There was something about her that seemed different from the others as well. It probably took me a few seconds to notice that Baby Tooth had a yellow feather sticking out from her forehead like Tooth Fairy while the other mini fairies had blue feathers.

"Is it alright if I see your teeth?" She asked. Before I could say anything, she already had her hands in my mouth. "Oh! They're clean and white! You must've brushed them often."

"Aa a oo ooin? Ay!" Translation: _What are you doing? Hey!_

"Tooth... hands out of mouth," ordered North, sternly. "Ve don't want to scare him."

"Sorry," she apologized and finally took her hands out of my poor mouth.

What the pumpkins was that?! My jaw was aching from that weird experience, so I had to massage it a bit.

"Happened to me, too," whispered Frost. "She's obsessed with teeth. Especially, white and clean ones."

"I think I already found out first hand," I whispered back.

"Now for introduction! Everyone, zhis here Jack O. Lanternson. The newvest spirit to be born after zhree centuries," North announced loudly.

"And Jack, I like you meet the Guardians," North started to introduce the other guardians. "Zhis here Bunny, Guardian of Hope," North waved to the large rabbit.

"So now we have _two_ Jacks? That doesn't sound good," commented Bunny while painting his egg.

"Zhis Tooth, Guardian of Memories, and her Mini Fairies," he waved to the feather woman and her hummingbird fairies.

The colorful fairy smiled eagerly while tilting her head slightly and waved at me.

"And lastly, zhis here Sandy, Guardian of Dreams...Sandy? Sandy? Wake up!" North tried to nudge the sleeping little man to wake up.

"No worries, North. I already know Sandy for a quite some time now," I told the old man so he doesn't wake up Sandy, but too late, Sandy already woke up.

Sandy looked up sleepily. When he saw me, he smiled and waved at me.

"Oh! You two already met?" exclaimed North, surprised. "Why didn't you tell me of zhis?" He turned to Sandy and questioned him.

Sandy shrugged as his reply.

"Wait! I still need to introduce my friends," I told them. "I like you guys to meet _my_ little helpers, the _Will-o-Wisps_," I tapped my lantern pole on the floor gently and right on cue, several fire orbs came shooting out of the lantern. The wisps flew around us in exciting giggles before going off on their own in curiosity. "I call them _Wisps_ for short." I added.

"Oh yes, I almost forgot 'bout zhem visps," thought North.

The wisps were amazed at their surrounding in the workshop. They were so many toys and colorful objects flying about. How can my wisps resist such temptation? Immediately, the wisps darted everywhere, exploring the place. Some of them were even checking out the guardians.

"Crikey!" Bunny cried when a few wisps were floating very closely to him. "Get away from me, ya floating torches!"

"Don't worry. They don't bite," I assured him.

"Do they _burn_?" He demanded, trying to move away from the wisps.

"Not if they want to," I answered.

"Oh that's just bloody reassuring!" The easter bunny snapped.

"Aw! They're kinda cute though," Tooth complimented when a wisp flew into her hand and she tried to pet it. But since wisps weren't solid creatures, her fingers just went through it. The flames danced around her finger, but not harming her whatsoever.

For Sandy, he was making sand figures for the wisps to play around with. Several little goldfish were swimming around him and the wisps chased them in delight.

Even the tiny fairies seemed to be getting along with the wisps. They were even talking to each other in blabbers and squeaks. Since when does my wisps know fairy language and fairies know wisp talk. This world was getting weirder and weirder.

But unlike how the wisps were going well with the fairies, I can't say the same with the elves. I just spotted an elf giving a wisp a mean look. There were elves and wisps roaming the long food table and it seemed that an elf was licking out of a punch bowl. The wisps just stared at the mean looking elf for awhile before setting a speck of flame on his hat...clothes thingy. The elf ran around screaming like crazy and tried to put out the flame by slapping on it, but since the fire was burning at the tip where the bell was, it was too tall and far away for him to reach it. Suddenly, the elf dived into the punch bowl with a splash, spilling punch all over the table.

Though I wanted to scold the wisps about burning things, I couldn't help but chuckle at this.

And the rest of the wisps were either watching the yetis make toys or messing with them. Uh oh... looks like some of the wisps just possessed some toys and the yetis didn't look happy. I really gotta discipline those guys.

Then Bunny suddenly walked up to me and asked, "So it's Jack O. Lanternson, am I right? Like in _Jack O'Lantern_?"

"Yep," I replied.

"I see ya've been hanging out with that clown. Hope he hasn't turned ya into one, mate," Bunny looked at Frost when he said that.

"Sorry to shatter your hopes, but Lantern here has been a prankster before I even met him," Frost clarified.

"Guilty as charged," I plead guilty.

"Oh crikey!" exclaimed Bunny, looking a little annoyed. "Like one Jack wasn't enough. Now we have two clowns."

"Come on, Bunny. Jack isn't that bad," Tooth appeared and joined in our conversation. "Besides, he's now a guardian and protects children like us. And his teeth are _beautiful_," she said dreamingly.

"He may be a guardian, but that doesn't mean he stopped messing with my egg hunts," Bunny argued.

"Ha! Ha! Not forget he's still top of me naughty list," laughed North, walking up towards us with a cookie in his hand. "You like some cookie?" he asked, pointing down at two elves carrying a cookie tray.

"Sure! No mind if I do," I accepted his offer, but when I was about to take a cookie from the tray, one of the elf suddenly spitted out a cookie from its mouth while still holding the tray. "Uh... never mind. I'm not hungry."

"Zhis alright," assured North, not noticing that scene just now and threw the cookie into his mouth. "Mmm..."

Ugh...

"So how long have you been around, Jack?" asked Tooth.

"Which _Jack_?" Both Frost and I asked.

"Crikey! This is going to be problem," said Bunny.

"I meant Jack O'Lantern. Sorry," apologized Tooth.

"No worries," I replied. "Just do what me and Frost did and call us by our last name. And about that question of yours, more than half a year I believe. Let's see, around seven months, I think. I also met Sandy a couple weeks after I was reborn."

"Vat? So Sandy already knew you for zhat long?" North looked surprised. "Sandy! How come you never say anyzhing about him?!"

Sandy was getting an eggnog from a yeti when North called to him. He made several figures over his head that I didn't have time to make out what they were, so I didn't know what he was saying. Then I saw another elf licking Sandy's eggnog while stretching out from the tray that the yeti was holding. It took Sandy awhile to notice it and had to pull his cup away.

Gross... what's up with these elves!

"So what kind of spirit are you?" Tooth asked curiously.

"What kind of spirit am I? Uh... I guess I'm the Spirit of Fall. I can make the leaves change color from summer green to red and orange autumn. I can also control fire so I guess I'm a Fire Spirit as well," I answered.

"Spirit of Fall?" Tooth said with this strange look on her face.

"Yeah. Why?" I wondered, confused at the look on her face. Did I say something wrong?

"It's just that we haven't had a Fall Spirit for so long," explained Tooth.

"Really? There was a Fall Spirit before me?" I asked, curiously.

"Yeah, but one day all of a sudden, he just vanished," said Bunny. "Don't know what happen to the guy."

"No one does," said North.

"Was he a Guardian?" I asked.

"No, just spirit zhat go 'round creating fall and scaring people," explained North, stroking his beard. "Just like you."

Another Fall Spirit that likes to go around pranking people like me? Neato! I wanna meet him!

"So what was the guy like? Was he funny? Nice? _Pranky_?" I kept asking excitedly. Was 'pranky' even a word?... Who cares.

"We didn't really associate with him since we were all too busy working," replied Bunny.

"Never met him either, but I heard a few things about the guy," said Frost.

"My fairies met him a few times before, but they don't really like him. They said that he was creepy," told Tooth.

"I never met him since I vork in office all year long and go out only on Christmas eve," said North. "Vhat 'bout you, Sandy? Sandy? Sandy, wake up!"

Looked like Sandy just dozed off again.

* * *

So for the rest of the party, I had a great time hanging out with the guardians. They were all great! Bunny was pretty cool, but he seemed to have this rivalry with Frost. I even heard Frost calling Bunny, the Easter Kangaroo. I also discovered that Bunny was a master of Tai Chi. How? Well, let's just say that never attempt to steal an egg from a bunny who knew martial arts or you would find a panda going Kung Fu around your head.

Tooth was also very nice and chatty, but I wished she stopped trying to put her hands in my mouth. I also found her doing that to Frost as well. The poor winter spirit had to shoved something inside his mouth to have an excuse to keep Tooth's eager hands from touching him.

Sandy and North was having a chat among themselves. Something about work and having time to talk with friends. Also, the whole time I didn't dare touch anything from the table or trays due to my earlier experience.

I also pulled some pranks on the elves by lighting their hat clothes on fire. Just a small speck though. Now I understand why the wisps lit that elf's clothes on fire. It was funny watching the elves running around with a silent scream while trying to put out the fire. This was seriously fun.

Frost even joined me and froze the floor, causing the elves to slip and slide all over the place. Some were even sliding smack into each other.

"Nice!" I gave Frost a high five.

"All in a days work," grinned Frost, evilly.

The wisps were also having a blast around the workshop and playing around with the yetis, elves, and the tiny fairies. Though, I hope the wisps weren't making too much trouble for the yetis and the elves. The little flame balls were messing around with the tools and stuff. Oh! And it looked like they just took over an airship with some help from the mini fairies and they were now having an air battle with the elves and their flying saucers.

When I heard giggles coming from nearby, I turned around and spotted five wisps throwing some shiny glass ball to each other at a floor above me. Wait... glass ball?

"Oh fudge no!" I gasped and quickly flew towards them, hoping they don't break that glass ball before I got there. "You five there! Put down that glass ball right now!"

Oops! Wrong order!

The wisps froze in shock and dropped the glass ball. Oh coconut stuffed truffles! I jetted towards the glass ball with my hands stretched out and _Bam!_ Caught it! Just in time.

"You guys shouldn't be playing with something like this! What if you break it?!" I scolded the wisps angrily while holding onto the glass orb carefully.

The wisps looked down in shame. The look on their faces was so pitiful that I couldn't stay mad at them for long.

"Fine, I'll let you guys go and play, but no more playing with breakable or dangerous stuff, understood?" I told them sternly.

The wisps nodded and replied _Uh huh_.

"Alright, you guys can go," I told them.

So the wisps shot into the air where the other wisps and fairies were to join in the air battle.

"Jeez! Now I know what a mom feels like," I thought to myself. Then I looked at the glass ball that the wisps were playing with earlier and I noticed small pieces of white particles were floating inside like falling snow. "A snow globe?"

"Yo Lantern! Where'd you went off to?" called Frost from somewhere.

"Sorry. My wisps were messing around with something so I just told them off," I replied back.

"Wanna hear about what happened to Bunny when he lost his powers?" asked Frost.

"Don't you bloody dare tell him!" I heard Bunny threatened him.

"Bunny? Now this I gotta hear!" I thought, so I put down the snow globe on a table. I was about to fly back to the hall room when heard a noise that sounded like something rolling on a wooden surface, so I turned around and saw the glass orb was rolling off the edge of the table. "You gotta be kidding me!"

I quickly dived for the glass ball again, but this time I was not fast enough. The snow globe fell onto the floor and bounced into the air. Suddenly, the glass ball exploded and there was this bright light. Due to the shock of the unexpected bright light, I didn't put the brake on myself in time and fell right into it.

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**~?'s POV~**

This wasn't good. Not good at all. According to what my Nightmares reported, that boy had become friends with those blasted Guardians! Especially, that damn Jack Frost!

I have to hurry. I need to hasten my plans or I'll lose the boy to those losers! I must come up with something quick. I need the boy. I must get him to come to my side soon.

And I'll do any means necessary to get what I want!

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Thank you for reading. Please comment or leave feedback or suggestions.

Love messing with the elves. Can't resist.


	12. Chapter 10 Chased by Giant Eggs with Leg

**Disclaimer: I do not own the ROTG universe or its original characters. This story is written within the ROTG universe. The rest of the characters belong to me.**

**And for someone's last chapter's comment: Yes, I do know that Pitch has a daughter according to the novel version. Will I use her? Only the future will tell...**

**Now get reading. Let's see where Lantern land himself into. Enjoy**

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**Chapter 10: Chased by Giant Eggs with Legs **

**~Frost's POV~**

"Hey, guys. Where'd Lantern go?" I asked the other guardians while looking for the glowing red head spirit. I knew for sure he was over on the floor above us dealing with his mischievous wisps since I was just talking to him a few seconds ago. But when I called him again, he wasn't there anymore.

"Frost! Something happened to the wisps. They're going nuts!" Bunny called.

I looked around and saw that the wisps were darting around like crazy. They were all over the place and crying out in panic for some reason. They looked confused and scared. Does this have anything to do with Lantern's disappearance?

"North! I can't find Lantern," I shouted to North.

"Vat? Vhere'd he go?" North wondered, confused.

"We need to calm down the wisps first! They're getting out of hand," told Bunny.

Bunny was right. The wisps were starting to knock down the toys and other objects. The yetis were having trouble trying to catch them all while the elves were just running around in panic. The wisps were also freaking out so much that they were even hitting each other. They kept babbling and crying like scared little children that got separated from their parent.

"Sandy! Gazher visps in one place," ordered North.

Sandy quickly sent out streams of golden sand to round up the wisps. The sand flowed into the air and slowly gathered the terrified wisps together. It was like watching a sheep dog rounding up a herd of sheeps. The wisps began to gather around in a large group in the hall room while the sand flowed around them in a sphere shape.

"Good vork, Sandy!" complimented North. "Tooth, your fairies can talk viz visps, so ask zem vat's matter and vhere Lantern."

Tooth nodded and told her mini fairies to talk with the wisps as ordered. The little fairies quickly flew into the sandy sphere and began to talk with the wisps.

"Where do you think Lantern could've disappeared to?" I wondered. "I was just talking to him a few minutes ago."

"Wasn't he like over there, on the floor above us?" thought Bunny, pointing to where Lantern was before he disappeared.

"That's what I thought, but I already check and he wasn't there," I told him.

"Vell, vhat ever happened, ve'll know shortly," said North as he noticed the mini fairies coming back to Tooth.

"So what did you guys find out?" asked Tooth, worriedly.

The little fairies squeaked and chatter something distressfully to her that the other guardians couldn't understand.

"Oh no! This isn't good. Jack O'Lantern is missing!" announced Tooth, looking troubled. "The wisps don't know where he went. When they felt his presence disappeared, they began to panic. They're really upset."

"This isn't good," muttered North, touching his beard nervously.

* * *

**~Lantern's POV~**

One moment, I was at North's factory. Next moment, I find myself transported through a magical portal and landed myself in some kind of underground oasis. When I first arrived here, I pretty much dived onto the ground and flipped over a few times before falling off a six feet tall cliff and crashed onto the ground. I can promise you that it was a painful experience, even for a spirit like me.

"Ow..." I moaned in pain. My whole body was aching from that fall, but I don't think I broke anything. "What the hell happened?" I muttered to myself, confused and not sure what situation I was in. When I looked up to see where I was, I found myself gapping from shock. That's when I started to notice my surroundings. This place looked like it might be underground somewhere, but there were sunlight coming from above and there were many pretty flowers, moss, ferns, grass, and trees. There was also many remnants of some ancient ruins and tunnels.

If the ruins were made of gold, then I probably would believe that I just landed myself in El Dorado. And that would've been awesome.

I got up and went to pick up my lantern pole that was lying close by. Then I started to look around and explore the place. The whole place was covered in green moss and grass. There were many tunnels, ancient buildings, and stone figures that looked like giant eggs. It was very pretty and peaceful. It was as if I just walked into a secret garden.

Suddenly, I noticed something moving at the corner of my eyes. I turned around, but I didn't see anything. Were there animals here? Shouldn't be a surprise. Then I heard rustling of the grass as something brushed through it. I turned again. Nothing there.

Wow, whatever animal that lived here, they were really fast on their feet.

I continued to walk deeper into the ruins and noticed that there was a lot of spiral like vines hanging down from long stretched out branches. Interesting...

When I walked a little more, I found what was probably the only colorful river I've ever seen. It was like the river was filled with several colors of paint that didn't mixed together for some reason. It was pretty to look at, but was it... safe?

"Is it polluted or something?" I wondered. This was definitely a very unnatural color for a river. I hope nothing gets mutated from this abnormal and colorful water.

Also, for a while, I felt like I was being watched for some reason, but when I turned around to where I thought the feeling was coming from, I only saw large egg shaped stone statues that had this really intimidating face carved on it.

I guess it was just my imagination.

I continued to wander around and I eventually walked into an area full of small trenches and flowers that had their buds down like bells. The tiny trenches were leading almost everywhere like a maze. Not wanting to step on them, I flew over the flowers.

That's when I came upon another area full of tulip flowers. Variety of colored tulip like flowers grew here and they were really pretty. Then I noticed movements all around the garden. There was some kind of small creature running all over the place, but I couldn't make out what they were, so I landed in an open spot within the garden. I tried to catch a glimpse of what was moving around, but they were really fast and there were too many flowers hiding them.

"Come here, you little critters!" I muttered while pouncing on any spot that was moving, but I had no luck in catching whatever these things were. I was really curious to see what they were, so I spent ten minutes trying to catch those things, but they all slipped through me. They were seriously quick.

_Pop!_

"What the popsicles!" I exclaimed in surprise from the sudden sound. I turned around to where the noise came from. I spot a tulip with its petals opened up and spreaded. Wait a minute... do tulips do that?

Then I noticed another tulip shaking on its own. Oh my god! What's happening!?

_Pop!_

"...An egg?"

Yes, people, an egg. An egg appeared when the not-really-a-tulip flower opened up. Then the most freakiest thing happened.

IT STOOD UP! OH MY GOD! The EGG had LEGS!

When the egg stood up, it jumped right off the flower.

"..." My mind was taking its time to accept that an egg with legs just came out of a flower.

Next thing I knew, the other flowers began to shake. Oh no!

_Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop!_

"Aaahh!" I screamed as more eggs popped out of the flowers.

EGGS with LEGS! MORE EGGS with LEGS! It's a whole ARMY of EGGS with LEGS! What screwed up planet did I transported to!?

I immediately jumped into the air and flew to who knew which direction. I wasn't paying attention to where I was heading and ended up crashing into something hard, face first. Then I fell onto the ground with a loud _Thud!_ "Oooww..."

That bloody hurt...

Suddenly, I felt a presence looming over me. Probably, the very thing I crashed into. I looked up and saw three stone egg statues _looking_ down at me. When I say _looking_, I meant they _bent_ over and were _literally_ looking at me. The statues were _alive_!

"Oh fudge!"

What in the world did I got myself into?

I jetted out right away and flew in a different direction. When I looked back, I saw the giant egg statues following me. Each of their stomping made a loud pounding noise that must've shook the ground.

When I turned back to the front, another giant egg golem jumped down with a loud _Crash!_ before me, blocking my path. I quickly turned in another direction and found myself in the trench area where the bell like flowers were. I decided to fly through the small trenches without really thinking since I was terrified for my life.

Out of nowhere, the bell like flowers started to spray something at me when I flew by.

_Poof! Poof! Poof! Poof! Poof! Poof! _

"Argh!" Mist of several colors were sprayed all over me. It was like being sprayed with spray paint! The sprayed liquid kept getting in my face and preventing me from seeing where I was flying.

Once I was out of the trenches, I tried to rub the paint off my eyes. Because I wasn't looking where I was going, I flew into a tunnel and hit the walls. Out of surprise, I changed my direction, but I hit the other side of the wall instead. It was like I was in a game of pinball and I was the ball!

Then I came shooting out of the tunnel and fell right into the river. The unnatural colorful river.

_Splash!_

I quickly surfaced and spitted out the bitter and awful tasting liquid. "Ugh... so that's what paint taste like," I complained. It was gross!

Right behind me, I could hear loud pounding of the earth. I turned around and saw the stone egg golems were still after me.

"Oh sugarplums!" I quickly got out of the water and flew in the opposite direction, hoping to get as far away as possible.

Unfortunately, I got myself tangled in the vines that were hanging down. "Oh come on!" I tried to free myself from these weird shaped swirly vines, but the more I tried, the worse it got. Out of pure desperation, I burned the vines with my fire.

It worked and I was free at last.

But I didn't get to celebrate my freedom for long, because I could hear the loud pounding of the earth getting louder and louder. I knew I had to get out of here as fast as possible or who knows what those golems would do to me.

* * *

**~Frost's POV~**

"Isn't there any way we can find him?" I demanded North, worriedly. Who knows where Lantern was now. He could be lost somewhere and didn't know how to get home or maybe he could be in some kind of trouble. Not knowing where that glowing red head went was making me worried. Even the wisps were getting hard to control. We have to thank Sandy and his magical dream sand for keeping them from going nuts again.

"I can only find children vith globe, not spirits," North replied back. "If only ve have any idea vhere he vent, zen ve can use snow globe."

"Wait a minute, snow globe?" Something inside my head seemed to realized something. "North, where are the snow globes right now?"

"Zhere over zere," North pointed to the platform above. The same place where Lantern was last heard from.

"Oh no," I muttered. I quickly flew to where North supposedly left his snow globes and searched the tables and floors for any clues. Finally, I found a box with 'Do not open' written on the top. I opened it and found a box full of North's magical snow globes and I noticed an empty space. A snow globe was missing.

"North, I think know how Lantern disappeared from the workshop!" I called out loudly so the other guardians could hear. I grabbed a snow globe and quickly flew towards them. "Lantern said that his wisps were playing with something up there and I think it might be a snow globe. One is missing from the box." I showed them the snow globe in my hand.

"Crikey! That boy could be anywhere!" exclaimed Bunny.

"Does anyone have idea of vhere he might be? Vhat vas last zing he vas talking about?" asked North.

For a snow globe to work, the holder must say a keyword of the location and throw it into the air. Then the snow globe would explode into a portal that would bring you to that location you want.

"I remember the last thing I told him was that I wanted to tell him about what Bunny looked like when his powers were gone," I told them.

That's when everyone looked at Bunny, realizing the same thing. Even if the holder said something that wasn't actually a place, but something related to the place, it can still send the person to a location that's related to it somehow.

"Oh cripes," Bunny moaned, his ears drooping from dread. He quickly tapped the floor, creating a magical hole in the ground, and jumped into it. Bunny was already on his way to his home.

"To the Warren," I said to the snow globe, which a image of an easter egg appeared inside the glass ball, and threw it into the air.

The snow globe exploded into a burst of light before forming a portal. I immediately flew into it with the rest of guardians and the wisps following behind.

* * *

When I came out of the portal, I arrived at the Warren. The other guardians came after me. Then came the wisps. The place was full of plants and moss just like the last time I came. I looked around, hoping to find any glowing red head somewhere.

"Lantern!" I called out, but there was no reply.

Instead, I heard Bunny's cry not too far off.

"What the bloody hell happened here!?"

We quickly went to where Bunny was to see what was going on and what made Bunny sound so shocked.

"What happened?" asked Tooth.

"The vines! They are all burnt!" cried Bunny looking at the burned vines in horror.

Like what Bunny said, the vines that help make the pretty swirl designs on the eggs were almost all burnt away.

"Lantern must be here! Only he can control fire," I thought. That meant my hutch was right. He did came here.

"That bloody blow torch! Wait 'til I get my hands on him," growled Bunny, angrily.

"Hold onto your boomerang, easter kangaroo. Lantern might have a good reason for doing this," I tried to calm the bunny down.

"Oh he better have one," Bunny punched his hand. "Or I'll make sure he never steps into my Warren again."

"Guys! Look!" called Tooth.

We all turned to her and saw that she was pointing at something. What she was pointing at was the wisps. They were acting weird again. They were looking around and alert as if they sensed something. Then they all turned in one direction and zoomed off in the same direction.

"They must know where Lantern is," I realized. The wisps seemed to have this ability to sense Lantern when he's close by. They were like a bunch of _Lantern Radars_. "Follow them!"

"About time they found him!" I heard Bunny snapped angrily.

We all followed the wisps as they lead us to some part of the Warren, where there were a lot of holes and caves in the wall of the earth. There was also this one spot where a group of Sentinels, large stone egg statues that can walk, were gathered in front of a hole that was too small for them to get in, but small enough for someone to hide in.

Lantern must be in that hole since the wisps wanted to go there, but they were too afraid of the Sentinels to go near it.

"Yo, Sentinels. Move," Bunny ordered the stone egg statues.

The Sentinels immediately moved to the side to open a path for them and what we saw inside the hole made us gap in amazement.

It was Lantern alright, but he was in a horrible mess! His clothes were torn and dirty. His hair was messy and had leaves and twigs sticking out everywhere. His whole body was covered in colorful paint, which I had no doubt came from the colorful river. The guy himself looked terrified and exhausted. He was all curled up deep inside the hole, holding onto his lantern pole for protection.

He looked terrible.

"Lantern?" I called, still amazed.

"Frost?" Lantern replied in surprise. "Frost!" He quickly flew out of the hole, passed the Sentinels, and hid behind me in a flash. "Get me outta here! Those egg golems are going to kill me!"

I had to admit, I was speechless. The other guardians were silent from his pitiful state as well. Even Bunny didn't look like he wanted to yell at him now.

And then...

"Bwa! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!"

We all burst out laughing, except for Lantern who looked confused.

"What's so funny?" He complained.

"Oh me stomach! Did you see look on his face? Ha! Ha! Ha!" North laughed while clutching his belly.

I had to try to force myself to calm down to be able to speak properly. "You look awful! What happened to you?"

"What happened to _me_? I was chased by a bunch of gigantic stone egg golems all over the place! I got sprayed, dunk, and tangled in vines! Of course, I look terrible! Stop laughing!" He shouted furiously.

Instead of us stopping, we laughed even harder.

The Sentinels looked a little confused, so Bunny had to go tell them that Lantern was with them.

The wisps were ecstatic and relief to find Lantern again. They were all huddling up to the glowing red head like a group hug. Then they were babbling like crazy since they were overjoyed to see him again.

"It's alright now, Lantern. Nobody's going to hurt you," I assured him, patting him on the back.

"What? Wait, what's going on here?" demanded Lantern, looking more confused.

"Well, mate, ya're currently at my place, the Warren," explained Bunnymund, his arms crossed. "The _stone golems_ are the protectors of this place. 'Called Sentinels."

"So I'm at Bunny's home... That would explain the eggs and paints," said Lantern, in an irritated tone.

"Let's get you clean up," I suggested while pulling Lantern from the group. "You look like you had a swim in Bunny's river."

"Ha ha, very funny, Frost," Lantern laughed sarcastically, glaring at me.

Though we were pretty far away from the group, I could hear a soft conversation from the other guardians.

"So how's vine?" North asked Bunny worriedly, "Vill they recover?"

"They'll regrow themselves within a month," replied Bunny, trying to sound calm but I can see he was a little worried as well.

"Will you be finish with your work before Easter?" wondered Tooth.

"Don't worry your pants off! I'll just have to work more hours and hasten myself," assured Bunny.

It didn't seem Lantern heard them, since he seemed to be muttering about walking eggs and paint spraying flowers. I didn't want Lantern to find out that he just burned one of Bunny's important plants or Lantern would feel really guilty. The guy looked like he had a tough day already. I didn't want to add more to his shoulders.

* * *

**~Lantern's POV~**

Never would I imagine the Easter Bunny's home to be so... not what I imagined. After what happened today, I don't think I want to visit the place again any time soon.

Finally, we all returned to North's workshop after I was rescued from those giant egg golems called Sentinels. I got to take a nice warm bath and have my clothes washed. A very _heavy_ washed at that. Since it would take some time for the yetis to wash off all that paint off, North lent me some of his clothes and bedroom for me to stay for tonight. Now that I think about it, out of all the guardians, the only person with a closet full of clothes was North.

"I look ridiculous," I said when I looked at myself in the mirror. I was in a small bedroom with the wisps and Frost. Since the clothes were North's, they were too many size bigger than me. It made me look like I'm wearing an oversize dress! I can't even see my feet!

What I was wearing was a very large white nightshirt that was so long that it covered my feet completely and the sleeves were too long for my arms that half of the sleeve was dangling from my hands.

Frost was snickering next to me from looking at how I was dressed.

"Shut it, Frost!" I snapped.

"I can't help it," Frost laughed. "You look like a candle stick!"

"What? Candle?" I looked in the mirror again and started to see that due to the long white nightshirt and my glowing red hair, I look similar to a white candle stick that was lit. Yet, I didn't see how this was funny.

_Hi hi hi hi hi hi hi hi_

"Not you guys, too!" Even the wisps were laughing at me!

"Since your clothes are still being taken care of, I guess you'll be staying here in North's place for tonight," said Frost.

"Pretty much," I replied.

North let me stay in one of his spare rooms to sleep tonight so my clothes can be properly washed and stitched. I don't have any other clothes, so I can only wait here until their done.

Or I can wear one of North's large hand-knitted sweaters and oversized pants. Not happening.

The room was pretty nice. It wasn't too big and wasn't too small. There were two twin size beds with red and white bed covers with small gold strips crossing each other to make a diamond pattern and two red and white pillows for each bed. There was a small lamp table between them. A wardrobe, lamp stand, and mirrors were on the side next to them. Then we have a small table with a green and red Christmas themed cloth covering it and two wooden chairs with red cushions on the seat. the walls and ceiling were made of normal wood with no paint or wallpapers. It really gives a nice wooden cottage feeling.

"Then I'm staying here for tonight too," stated Frost. "I don't have any plans tomorrow morning and it'll be more fun that way."

"Like a sleepover? That sounds awesome!" I thought. We're in factory full of toys! There's so many things we can play around with!

_Knock! Knock!_

There was knocking from the door and North walked into the room.

"Anyone vants cookies?" he asked, showing a tray of cookies.

I would've taken some if there wasn't an elf on the tray as well. The little guy was stuffing his cheeks real good with the treats.

Frost and I looked at each other and then back at North.

"No thanks, I'm good," I decline.

"Oh, I'm still full from the party," Frost said while rubbing his stomach.

"Too bad. Zey vere freshly baked. Just came out of oven," he said cheerfully. Then he noticed the elf on the tray. "Vat you doing, Dingle? Cookies vere for boys."

The elf jolted in realization and started to spit out all the cookies back onto the tray. Then it climbed down North and ran off. The sound of the small bell ringing slowly disappeared into the hall.

Both Frost and I made the same grossed out face.

Ew...

* * *

Thank you for reading. Please comment or leave feedback or suggestions.

Sorry Bunny, but eggs with legs are _not_ adorable. They're creepy.


	13. Chapter 11 Helping the Guardian of Hope

**Disclaimer: I do not own the ROTG universe or its original characters. This story is written within the ROTG universe. The rest of the characters belong to me.**

* * *

**Chapter 11: Helping the Guardian of Hope**

**~Lantern's POV~**

I was walking in a creepy dark forest. The air was chilly and the sky was black, yet I could see my surroundings clearly. The trees had no leaves and looked dead, but why does it feel like they were looking at me? I kept walking and walking, not knowing where to go or how to get out. Hell! I don't even know where I am!

I was alone. No wisps. No guardians. No Frost. Even my lantern pole was gone.

_Woosh_

Suddenly, I heard something moving really fast from the trees. I turned around, but I only saw nothing but darkness.

_Woosh_

"Hello?" I called out, hoping that there was someone here besides me. No reply.

_Klopp klopp klopp klopp! Hiiiiiiiiiii! Snort!_

Then I heard sounds of hooves galloping in the distance. The whinnying and snorting of an animal that sounded like a horse.

_Klopp klopp klopp klopp klopp! Hiiiiiii! _

_Klopp klopp klopp klopp! Hiiiiiii!_

More galloping and whinnying. It sounded like there were more of them.

When I turned around to where the galloping was coming from out of instinct, I felt this weird feeling like something very terrifying was heading towards me. Shivers were going down my spine, my chest was squeezing, and my mind screamed for me to run,

So I ran.

For some reason, I couldn't fly no matter how hard I tried. I can only run on my feet. I ran and ran, breathing hard from all the energy being spent.

_Klopp klopp klopp klopp klopp klopp klopp!_

The sound of hooves was getting closer and closer.

I kept running and running. When I turned my head around to see what was chasing me, I saw three dark shadows shaped like horses with bright menacing yellow eyes galloping towards me. Their forms looked ghostly from the streams of darkness that flowed like smoke behind them.

Something told me that they weren't the sweet ponies that want crunchy apples or a nice grooming. They were the kind that bring fear and darkness.

The horrible fear inside of me kept me running through the trees. I tried to create fire to defend myself, but like how I couldn't fly, I couldn't call out my fire. This was really bad.

I began to feel panic rising inside of me. I tried to run as fast as I can, but the black horses kept getting closer and closer.

_Klopp klopp klopp klopp klopp! Hiiiiiii! Snort!_

Their cries were close behind me. I turned around to see how close they were, but they were so close that they leaped onto me.

"Aaaaaaahhhhhhh!" I screamed as I closed my eyes and raised my arms to protect myself from them.

Then came darkness. Complete darkness.

It was cold and empty. No one and nothing was there. It was so lonely and I was scared.

Suddenly, from within the darkness, I heard a voice. A dark creepy voice.

_Jaaaaaaaack..._

* * *

I jolted from my sleep, gasping for air. My heart was beating hard and I was sweating like crazy. It was like as if I ran a mile around the football field back in high school. It took me a while to finally calm down and for my heart to go back to beating like normal again. I sat up and looked around the unfamiliar room. It took me awhile for me to remember that I was at North's place.

The flames from the lantern pole that was leaning on the wall next to my bed was glowing softly within the room. It was the only light source I have since I couldn't just turn the thing off like a lamp.

Frost was sleeping soundly on the other bed in the room. It didn't seem that Frost heard me, so that was good. I didn't want to wake him up for just a stupid nightmare anyways. It's been a long time since the last time I even had one, too.

Unfortunately, I heard a soft babble from the lantern and I knew right away that I woke up a wisp. And when one wisp woke up, so were the others. When I turned to the lantern, I saw several wisps looking at me worriedly from inside. They must've sense my distress and woke up. The wisps and I seemed to have that kind of mental connection now.

"It's alright, guys," I assured them, trying to act that everything was fine. "It was nothing, so just go back to sleep."

The wisps stared at me for awhile before they merged with the flames and went to sleep again.

I knew the wisps can still sense my nervousness, but since I told them that I was fine and to go back to sleep, they didn't pry and did as they were told. They were good kids when it came to listening to me. That's why I love them so much.

Then it was my turn to go back to sleep as well. I looked at the clock, which was the classic two bells kind, on the small table between the beds and discovered that it was around three in the morning. Only a few more hours before the sun rises. I took one last look at the lantern to make sure the wisps were completely asleep and I tucked myself back under the blanket. I closed my eyes and hoped that I don't have another nightmare again tonight.

* * *

_RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGG!_

"Holy pumpkin tarts!" I woke up with a sudden jolt in shock from the ear-splitting ring of the alarm clock going off.

"Wha!?" I heard Frost cried out in shock and...

_Bang!_

It seemed that Frost did a higher jump than I did, because he literally _jumped_ up and hit his head on the ceiling. Ouch...

"YOU OKAY, FROST?!" I shouted through the loud ringing clock while covering my poor damaged ears.

"SHUT THAT THING OFF!" Frost shouted back, covering his own ears.

The wisps also woke up from the ear-splitting racket in surprise and flew out of the lantern, crying out in panic.

_RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGG!_

_AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!_

I grabbed the alarm clock, but it was so loud and shaking so hard that I was having a hard time finding the off switch. Where was the off switch for this old piece of antique anyways?

"I CAN'T FIND THE 'OFF' BUTTON!" I shouted to Frost.

The wisps were going nuts as they were ricochetting all around the room, freaking out from the deafening alarm.

_RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGG!_

_AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!_

Then Frost grabbed his staff and _Zap! _He froze the clock and luckily, not my hands too.

"Good thinking!" I complimented with an unnatural loud tone. My ears were still ringing inside my head. "I think my ears went deaf."

"Same here!" Frost replied with the same loud tone as well, massaging his ears.

The wisps calmed down and were floating in the air, dizzy and confused. It took them awhile to set their minds straight.

"Who set the alarm clock?" I wondered. When I put down the frozen clock back on the table, the wisps gathered around it in curiosity. They nervously stare at it as if expecting another explosion of ringings again.

"Not me," denied Frost. "I'm not a morning person."

Without warning, someone came bursting through the door and into our room, greeting us in a booming voice.

"Rise and shine boys! You two have good sleep?" It was none other than North, the man of Christmas. He was in his red shirt with the sleeves rolled up, black baggy pants, black leather shoes, and this red fabric with variety of designs on it strapped around his waist.

"Morning, North," Both Frost and I greeted him in an unamused tone. While North looked cheerful and dressed, Frost and I were annoyed from waking up so early in the morning. Not to mention, both of us had very horrible case of bed heads.

"Get dress, you two. Ve have breakfast in hall room," North announced to us before walking out the door. Suddenly, he came back and appeared on the side of the door frame. He pointed at me and said, "Lantern, your clothes are done, so yetis vill bring them soon." Then he disappeared and didn't appear from the door again.

* * *

**~Frost's POV~**

Not long after, North left, the yetis appeared with Lantern's clothes. I quickly left the room, so that Lantern can change into his clothes. I flew towards the hall room where breakfast would be at. I can already smell something mouth-watering in the air.

When I arrived, the long dinning table in the hall room was full of food like ham, sausages, fried eggs, bread, butter, and bowl of red, green, and yellow apples. Talk about having a complete balance breakfast. They all looked so good.

North was already at the table having his ham and eggs. He was sitting at the end of the table where he had his back towards the fireplace. I sat down at a seat on the right of North and quickly grabbed some sausages onto my plate. I was starving! While I was eating, I also made sure to look around the table to make sure the elves weren't eating or licking anything.

There were a few elves walking around on the table, so when I spotted one trying to lick the butter stick, I quickly freeze it before it lay its tiny hands on that chunk of butter. I wanted to have an elf-free-clean food, so no elves were going to take a lick out of anything while I'm around. I sure bet Lantern would do the same.

"So, Frost, tell me about Lantern. How did you two meet?" asked North, curiously.

So I told him how I met him at a park when I was playing with the kids and spotted him in trees. Then I went through our fight, Abby, and his friend's guilt problem from Lantern's death.

Suddenly, North chuckled. "Zat boy almost like you, Frost. He loves pranks, has little sister, and vell... died before being reborn."

"Wait a minute, so none of you guys died before becoming a guardian?" I stared at North, a little surprise from this new information.

"Of course. Ve vere chosen by Manny vhen ve vere still alive. Only you vere chosen after you died," informed North.

"Wait a minute! So I'm the only guardian that died before the Moon chose me? What about Lantern? He was called by the Moon, too," I demanded.

"Lantern? Manny called him?" North stared at me confused. "I didn't know zis!"

"Well, yeah. Lantern didn't tell you?" I asked, wondering.

"No," denied North. Then he seemed to be in deep thought. "Zen zis even bigger news."

"Wait... I'm not following," I said, confused. I'm not really sure what North was getting at.

"Frost, don't you understand? Lantern vas chosen by Manny! Zat means zat Manny chose Lantern like he chose you. Manny might be planning somezhing and Lantern is key like you vhen Pitch Black attacked," explained North. "Lantern might be new Guardian."

"Lantern? A Guardian? So he's going to be like us?" I stared at North.

"I don't know for sure, but maybe," North replied. "But don't say anyzhing to him yet since ve not completely sure. Ve don't vant to give him false hope."

North was right. We don't know if Manny wants him to be a Guardian or what, so it's best to not say anything.

"Hey guys!" North and I jumped at the sound of someone's voice. It was Lantern and he just came into the hall room with his wisps. He sat on the opposite side of the table from me, but on the left of North. "So what were you guys talking about? Something about giving someone false hope."

Shoot! He heard us! I looked at North for help, which he caught it immediately.

"Oh! vell... ve vere talking about... Bunny! Yes! Bunny, he has some teensy veensy problem at Warren right now and I zhought zhat you two can help him out," North explained.

"What?!" I gasped, dumbfounded. Then I remembered that North was trying to come up with an excuse right now. "Oh right! Yeah..."

"Bunny?" Lantern said with this weird look. "You mean I have to go back to the Warren?! Nu uh! No way! Not going back!" He refused immediately.

I guess he wasn't going to forget about what happened yesterday that easily.

"Yes, zhat's vhat I zhought. I vould like to help, but I'm busy. Frost suggested zhat you and him vill help instead, but I knew you vould refused so I said not give false hope for Bunny."

"What?"

"What?!"

Both Lantern and I both cried out, dumbfounded. Lantern stared at me with a dirty look like I just slapped him in the face. His glare seemed to want to burn me and I have no doubt that he can do it if he wanted to.

"Well, since Bunny's vines got _burnt_ yesterday, his egg painting has slowed down, so he got a lot of workload on his hand. So I thought we should help out," I blurted quickly, scratching my head nervously.

"Vines? What does that have anything to do with egg painting?" He demanded.

"You've probably saw the paint spraying flowers and that colorful river, right? The vines are also part of the painting system. They make the swirly designs on the eggs," I explained. Maybe I should have Bunny show him how the system worked next time.

Lantern looked stunned and stared at me and North. He must've realized now that it was kind've his fault that Bunny was having trouble with his job.

"That's vhy I vanted to help, but I'm very busy," North made an excuse.

I wondered if North remembered that Christmas was just _yesterday_.

Lantern seemed to be in deep thought for awhile before he agreed, "Alright. I'll go and help."

"Seriously?" I gapped at him, dumfounded, since I didn't expect him to agree.

"Good!" North said cheerfully.

"But _only_ as long as those egg golems don't chase me again!" He said with a serious look.

"Their _Sentinels_," I corrected him.

Lantern ignored me while staring at North.

"It's Bunny who orders them, but zhat shouldn't be problem. I'll tell Bunny you two are coming, so he can tell zhose eggs zhat he's expecting you."

Then North told one of the yetis to send a message to Bunny of our arrival. I never thought I'll have to help that easter kangaroo again in this weird situation.

"Thanks a lot, North!" I leaned over and whispered to North in an annoyed tone when Lantern wasn't looking.

"Just zhink it as guardian training for him," North leaned towards me as well and whispered back.

"What are you guys whispering about?" Lantern asked while giving us a suspicious look.

"Nothing!" We both replied with an innocent grin and quickly went back to shoving breakfast in our mouth.

* * *

**~Lantern's POV~**

I can't believe I actually came back here when I told myself just last night that I'm not going to come back here any time soon. Fate sure loved to mess with me.

So basically, Frost and I are back at the Warren, Bunny's home. Our job was to help Bunny paint eggs since yesterday, I burned some of his plants that did those jobs. Well, they can't blame me for freaking out from being chased by those oversized stone egg. They were _terrifying_.

Also, when we arrived here after breakfast, two stone egg golems came to meet us, in which I hid behind Frost for protection. I found out that those golems can change their expressions by turning their faces around. For each Sentinels, they would have a happy nice face and a mean intimidating face. So when we came, they used their friendly nice face to greet us. Freaky at first, but also kinda cool.

Then, I heard a sound of quick small pounding as if something really fast was coming towards us from the tunnels. It wasn't long before Bunny jumped out of a tunnel on all fours.

"Finally arrived, aye?" greeted Bunny, standing up on his hind legs. "I got North's message. 'Couldn't believe it when I first found out that _Frostbite_ here was going to help."

"Yeah, neither did I," Frost replied back in an annoyed tone.

Huh, wasn't he the one that suggested this in the first place?

"Now that you two are here, let's get to work, shall we," announced Bunny. "You've probably know already that the vines won't be in working order again for awhile."

"Sorry," I apologized, feeling guilty.

"Don't worry, mate. Those vines will regrow themselves in a few weeks," assured Bunny. "So while they are out for now, you two will be painting the designs on the eggs instead until then."

"Wait! Does that mean we have to paint eggs for _weeks_?" Frost demanded in a panicking tone.

"Of course," Bunny replied with a sneer.

Frost glared at Bunny, annoyed.

"So how many eggs do we have to paint?" I asked, hoping to prevent an unnecessary argument between those two.

"A lot," Bunny replied.

And right after he said that, there was a small rumbling sound. Even the ground was shaking. Then something came flowing out of the tunnels. There were hundreds... No! _Thousands_ of eggs marching into the opening! It's a whole colony of walking eggs!

"We have to paint all that?" I looked at the amount of walking eggs nervously.

"Yep! Now get to work, mates," ordered Bunny, throwing two paint brushes at us, which we caught them each just in time, though I almost dropped it. We stared at the paintbrush in our hands and at the thousands of eggs. This was going to be a _long_ day.

So for the first two hours, we spent all our time painting eggs. Bunny was also painting them with us to make sure we were doing it right, because an hour ago, Frost and I were having an egg painting race to spice things up a bit. Even though, we had a large quantity of eggs painted, there were no quality. Or to say, the eggs looked horrible.

Then after that, Bunny snapped at us when he found Frost drawing snowflakes and me drawing pumpkins. He scolded us angrily, "Easter isn't in winter! No snowflakes! You too, Lantern! It's _Easter_! NOT Halloween!" So we ended up repainting several eggs.

Geez, so picky.

While I was painting, what supposed to be a red rose, on a pink egg, I had several small eggs hanging around all over me. I had two hoping on my head, one each standing on my shoulders, and eight on my lap. I think I have a few hiding in my jacket for some reason. Frost also looked similar to me with all those eggs all over him, too. I think one of them was doing a tap dance on his head.

The wisps, on the other hand, didn't know how to use a paint brush, so they were play tag with the eggs. Wished I was playing with them instead of painting all these eggs.

"Seriously, Bunny, how could you stand painting eggs like this every day for hundreds of years?" I complained loudly.

"Well, mate, Easter isn't just about painting eggs," Bunny tried to explain.

"Yeah, I know. It's about finding them," I cut in, painting a sad excuse for bumble bee on an egg. I'm seriously a failure at art.

"No, mate," Bunny argued in an annoyed tone. "Easter is about hope and new beginnings. Each one of these eggs represent a new life, and each unique designs painted on these eggs represent the different paths in life that one can take. Just like how there are different kinds of people, there're many kinds of future one can choose. Easter is what gives children hope to a new life and have new encounters. And that, mate, is what Easter is about."

I thought of what Bunny said and it made me realize how little I understood Easter. All I ever thought about Easter was finding eggs as many as possible. "Wow... I never realize how important Easter can be. I guess I shouldn't take Easter lightly."

"Good then. Now stop wasting time and paint those eggs before sun down," ordered Bunny.

"Aye aye sir," I said in a pirate tone, playfully. And so I went back to painting the eggs, but a little more serious this time. Just a little.

* * *

**~Bunny's POV~**

As I watched those two boys working on their eggs with a concentrated look on their faces, I had to admit that I was pretty proud of them. I didn't expect for this to go smoothly, but so far, those two were doing alright.

When I got a message from North this morning that Frost and Lantern would be coming to help with painting the eggs, I was pretty surprised. North explained that he wanted Lantern to learn about what a guardian does. I thought at first why do I have to babysit two grown boys and one of them burned some of my plants yesterday.

But it turned out that Lantern wasn't as impish as I thought. He had potential, so teaching him wasn't too bad. Frost, on the other hand, can be a pain and make a whole lot of trouble for me, but he's now a guardian and knows how important Easter was. Though, I can't have Frost influence Lantern too much. I hate to have two clowns messing with my Easter.

"Hey, Bunny, I was wondering, were you this big from the start? I've never seen a bunny your size before," Lantern asked, looking at me curiously.

I was about to answer him when Frost cut in.

"Oh not always. You should've seen him when he lost his powers," Frost said with an evil grin.

That sneaky little...!

"What happened?" Lantern asked, looking really interested.

"I told you not to ever mention that?" I snapped angrily at Frost.

"Basically, he turned into...," That frostbite was about to tell Lantern my most humiliating secret, which wasn't much of a secret anyways, but it's not something I like to spread.

"Now hold on there! If you two keeping delaying your work, I'm going to make you two work over time!" I quickly yelled at them. "Now paint!"

And those two went back to painting while I made sure there were no more interruption.

* * *

Thank you for reading. Please comment or leave feedback or suggestions.

I have Finals in two weeks, so I have a painting project to work on and Japanese to study and plan for oral exam. I hate oral exams... So much to do and so little time *sigh*


	14. Chapter 12 A Guardian Protects

**Disclaimer: I do not own the ROTG universe or its original characters. This story is written within the ROTG universe. The rest of the characters belong to me.**

* * *

**Chapter 12: A Guardian Protects the Children**

**~Lantern's POV~**

I was running in the dark forest again. The trees loomed over me with their branches stretched out like menacing hands at me. I could hear the sound of hooves and cries of horses following me.

_Klopp klopp klopp klopp klopp! Hiiiiiiii!_

Their cries were getting closer again. I tried to conjure fire, but nothing ever happened. I tried to fly away, but my body never left the ground. I was alone once again without my friends and my wisps.

_Klopp klopp klopp klopp klopp! Snort!_

My legs were getting heavier and heavier from all this running. I knew it was pointless to run from these dark beasts, but the fear always drove me to keep moving. Then I heard a cold creepy voice echoing throughout the forest.

_Jaaaaaaacccckkkkk... Come to me..._

"No!" I yelled. "Leave me alone!"

_You can run all you want from me..._

Suddenly, two dark black horses with bright yellow eyes came bursting from the trees in my path in front of me. I stopped running and took a few steps backwards away from them, but they slowly walked up towards me.

_But you can never escape me..._

I turned around and saw more of the dark beasts behind me as well. I couldn't see anyway out. I was surrounded.

_You WILL join me..._

Then all the dark beasts leaped into the air towards me. I closed my eyes and hoped that I would wake up from this nightmare.

* * *

I jolted from my sleep again. My heart was beating fast and my lungs were gasping for air. This was the upteenth time I had this kind of nightmare for the passed few weeks. It was the same dark cold and creepy forest and the same black horses with glowing yellow eyes chasing me. And that voice... that dark cold evil voice that kept calling to me. I knew I heard that voice somewhere before. Somewhere long long ago. Why did it sounded so familiar?

It was because of these nightmares that I wasn't getting any good night sleep. I didn't want to tell anyone about this since I hoped that the nightmares would stop on their own, but I was getting more and more tired by the day. Maybe I should tell someone soon about this. I seriously wanted the nightmares to go away and sleep peacefully.

I was still sleeping in one of North's guest rooms. Frost was also sleeping on the other bed next to mine. He was still sound asleep like always. So far, Frost hadn't found out about my nightmares. Maybe I should tell him soon.

Suddenly, I heard a couple of blabber close by. I didn't need to turn around to know who it was.

"Go to sleep," I ordered the wisps that woke up in the lantern.

They started to whine worriedly at me, but I didn't want to deal with this, so I snapped at them out of stress.

"Go back to sleep!" I whispered angrily at them.

Immediately, the whining stopped. That's when I realized I did something I shouldn't have done.

"I'm sorry," I quickly apologized out of guilt now that my anger disappeared, but when i looked at the lantern, I didn't see the wisps. Even though I didn't see them, I could feel their sadness from within the flames. I didn't mean to snap at them like that. I just got angry from the lack of sleep I've been having for so many nights. "I'm sorry," I apologized again, but there were no reply.

So I went back to sleep with guilt still flowing in my conscience.

* * *

It's day time and we were at the Warren again. For the passed few weeks, Frost and I have been going to the Warren and painted thousands of eggs everyday. I was sick of seeing eggs after the first week! I seriously wanted to quit this job, but my sense of guilt for causing Bunny's problem in the first place kept me going.

The few entertainments I had was watching the wisps _chase_ the Sentinels. It was kinda bizzare sight to see. Frost threw a snowball at Bunny one time and the high speed rabbit chased him around the Warren. I also set Bunny's tail on fire and I thought it was hilarious, but getting an earful from the giant rabbit was not.

On the last day, I was reaching my limit and was about to blow something up when Bunny announced to us that the vines were back to their working form and fully grown again.

"Since you all helped me out big time, minus-ing the pranks," He glared at us at this, but still had this grin and twinkle in his eyes. "I'll show you how the egg painting works as a treat. Follow me," told Bunny. Then he hopped into the tunnels of the ruins in a flash.

_Ooooooooooooo! _The wisps exclaimed in interest and chattered in excitement.

We followed the giant rabbit to where I remembered the tulip-like flowers that sprouted eggs grew. "I remember this place! This was where I saw eggs popping out of the flowers like popcorn. This place almost gave me a heart attack!"

"Pfff!" I could hear Frost holding his laughter. I didn't see how me getting a heart attack was funny here.

"Now quiet you two. It's about to start," Bunny told us.

We waited for a few seconds when suddenly, I heard a popping sound.

_Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop!_

Eggs were popping out of the flowers and running around the field just like how I remembered last time, but this time I was expecting. No more surprise egg popping from me!

_Oooooooooooo! _The wisps were awed by this.

"Now follow my lead!" Bunny said before he hopped over the field and through a bunch of large rocks. We followed him like he told us. Even the eggs were following him.

Then Frost told me while we were flying behind the bunny, "This is where it gets awesome!"

Wondering what he meant, we came upon the spraying flower field. This was where I got spray painted by those flowers!

Then I noticed Bunny running through it, but he didn't get sprayed at all. Frost, the wisps, and I were flying above them, so we didn't get hit. But the eggs that were following behind him were running and jumping as some of the spray paint hit them. They were all being spray painted with variety of colors.

"So that's what they were for," I realized from watching this.

_Hi hi hi hi hi hi hi hi hi hi hi hi hi! _The wisps laughed excitedly and joined the paint spraying club. Now my wisps were shinning in several different colors like neon lights. Oh god! I hope those colors weren't permanent. I didn't like the idea of having rainbow colored wisps flying around town like christmas lights.

Next area was the colorful river where I took a nice dive when I was being chased by the Sentinels. Back then, I was terrified of them, but now, I thought they were pretty cool and chill.

Bunny stopped by the river and let the eggs dive into the pretty and colorful waters. They dived in and floated like a bunch of ping pong balls in a kiddie pool. They floated on the surface so I was able to see the eggs getting more colorful by the water and some of them had their feet kicking in the air before they flowed down the river.

When they got out and onto land on the other side of the river, the eggs were full of many shades of colors.

"Now to the last step, mates," Bunny announced.

And I bet I knew which part it was. The vines!

The eggs all marched into a forest full of vines and started to walk on the branches without falling off. Wow, these eggs were masters of balancing on vines right when they were born! Once the eggs were walking all over the vines, they would jumped into the spiral parts and slide down with more detailed designs on them! They were beautiful!

"This is so AWESOME!" I cried out in amazement. By this time, my mood lightened up a lot. I was really enjoying this now.

"Glad you like it, mate" grinned Bunny. "Now it's time to put them all in baskets and store them until Easter."

So Bunny brought out a lot of easter baskets for the eggs to nest into and store them away in this large den. It took us awhile since the eggs were just cramming themselves in a basket when it was already full. They seemed really eager to get in.

"Here," I heard Bunny's voice beside me.

When I turned around, I saw a small pink basket of three pretty easter eggs. I stared at Bunny, confused.

"Heard you have a sister," said the large bunny. Then I saw him look at Frost for a second before looking at me again. Now I knew who told him. "This is my thanks for helping me."

"Wow, thanks Bunny," I thanked him. Abby would be so happy when I get back and give this to her. Looks like Easter will be coming early for my little sis. I can't wait to see her, since I haven't been seeing her since I've been at North's place for these passed few weeks. It was easier to travel from North's workshop to the Warren with his portal-making snow globes, so I had no time to go back home. North's place was almost becoming a second home to me.

"You seem to look a lot better now," grinned Frost.

"Wait, what do you mean by that?" I asked, confused.

"You looked kinda gloomy and worn out before, so I told Bunny to give you a treat on how egg painting system here worked to cheer you up," he explained. "It worked didn't it?"

"You did look kinda dead beat, mate," said Bunny, crossing his arms and smiling warmly at me.

"Even your wisps were worried as well," Frost pointed to the wisps.

_Uh huh!_

They nodded that it was true.

"You understood them?" I asked in surprise.

"I don't need to speak Wispinese to understand what they were thinking," he replied with a playful grin.

I was really bewildered by their kindness. I didn't think anybody would notice my moody behavior since I've been trying to hide my exhaustion. "Wow... thanks guys. This is just so... amazing. I don't know what to say."

"Don't worry. Isn't this what friends are for?" said Frost with an encouraging grin.

This was probably the first time I felt this happy like this since I became a spirit. It was great to have friends again.

* * *

**~ Frost's POV~**

Lantern and I were back at North's workshop and it was the last day we were hanging out before leaving in the evening. I gotta get back to making snow days after all.

"So how did the egg painting go?" asked North once we returned.

"It was great! Bunny showed me how the egg painting system worked and he even gave me a basket of eggs as a souvenir," Lantern told him excitedly while showing off his basket.

"Good! Glad you enjoyed yourself," North smiled cheerfully. "I have little surprise for you and you would definitely like it. Look who's here for a visit."

When North took a step to the side, that's when I noticed a stubby man in gold sandy clothes and bright gold and spiky hair floating in the air, waving at Lantern and I with a smile across his face in greeting.

"Sandy!" Lantern cried out, looking really surprise and thrilled at the same time. "I haven't seen you for such a long time!"

_Di di di di di di di di!_

The wisps started to chatter and swarm around Sandy excitedly. Sandy just smiled to them and even petted one of them that was close enough to touch.

So far, out of all the senior guardians, Lantern was really close to Sandy. Must be because they met each other first. Lantern looked really happy seeing the little golden man again. That was good since he looked gloomy before.

I wondered why he looked so exhausted? Maybe I'll ask him later.

"So what's the occasion?" I asked curiously.

"Oh it's just visit," answered North, but then he quickly leaned over and whispered in my ear when Lantern wasn't looking, "Zhought I should give him lesson on how me and Sandy vork. It's good help him understand vhat ve do."

"Oh, got it," I understood. "What about Tooth?"

"She zhought it vas excellent idea, but too busy right now," Then North turned to Lantern. "Lantern! Come here boy!"

"Yeah, North?" Lantern came over with Sandy floating behind him.

"You vant tour of me vorkshop?" North asked.

"Seriously!? Yeah!" Lantern agreed enthusiastically. The wisps also cried out and bounced around excitedly.

So North lead us through his workshop. We went to where the Yetis were working on the new toys for next Christmas. The Yetis were building, painting, gluing, and putting together variety of toys on the tables and counters. The elves were also all over the floor and tables, doing what they do best: messing around.

"Zhis is vhere yetis vork. Zhey vork tirelessly everyday, except Sundays. Each yeti vork on one specific toy and make thousands of zhem. Vhile I make models of toys, zhey reproduce zhem," explained North as we walked through the tables.

Suddenly, I spotted a familiar yeti working on sewing a stuffed lion. "Hey Phil!" I called out. When that yeti turned around, I waved at him. Phil smiled while blabbering something in yeti tongue and waved at me.

"You know that yeti? How can you tell the difference from the others?" Lantern asked in shocked since he's been here for weeks and still can't tell the difference between one yeti from another. At least he was able to tell the difference when it came to their fur colors.

"Yeah, we met a lot when I tried to break in here in the old days," I explained.

"Break in?" Lantern looked at me wide eyes.

"Never got passed the yetis, especially that guy."

"Why were you trying to break in here?"

"Who doesn't want to? Especially, a place like this. Before Pitch caused trouble last time, I was never allowed in here since I wasn't a guardian back then."

While Lantern and I were having a conversation on my attempts of breaking in, I heard a sound.

_Ooooooooooooo!_

The wisps stared at the toys in awe and off they went, zooming all over the place. Even though the wisps were possessing the toys again, chasing elves, and mess around with the yetis, North didn't seem to notice or he was just plain ignoring the havoc in the room behind us.

_Zoom!_

_Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!_

Uh oh! There goes half a dozen fighter planes. They were taken over by the wisps.

Lantern didn't look like he was going to stop them anytime soon since his face was turning pink, his body was shaking, and he was covering his mouth, which I could still see a grin peeking out of the corner. He was definitely holding in his laughter.

I didn't bother stopping them either, since I was enjoying myself too much from watching the havoc unfold.

Then I notice Sandy giving us a disapproval look and shook his head.

Hey! It's not our fault that the wisps wants to have fun with all these toys!

"And here is me office," announced North, pushing through a door into another room.

I remembered this room clearly since I came in here before. This was where North tried to help me find my 'center.' This place was full of ice models of toys that North came up with and let the yetis reproduce them.

"Whoa," I heard Lantern exclaimed amazement.

"Zhis is where I vork and come up vith toys for children every Christmas," North explained.

Lantern looked around in awe. "This is so _amazing! _But why ice?"

"Because zhere's only ice up here! You see any trees, Lantern? Can't use furnitures. Zhat would be very foolish," North explained.

That made sense. I didn't see trees for several miles away.

"And Lantern, do you understand vhat I do for children of vorld?" North asked.

"You mean like how Bunny gives hope and Sandy gives dreams? Hmm... since your the Guardian of Wonder, if I remember right, then your job is to give... wonders?" answered Lantern, but sounding unsure of his answer.

"YES! Vonders! You are smarter zhen Frost. He couldn't figure out as fast as you did," North complimented him.

"Hey!" I cried out, angrily. "You gave me a matryoshka doll for me to guess on! I had to waste time opening up several wooden dolls to get to your 'center'!"

Annoyingly, North just ignored me and continued with his _Wonders_ explanation. "Every children are born with curiosity and vonders. The vonders that see the many possibilities and beauty of zhe vorld!" Then he turned to Sandy and said "Sandy protects children's dream. Zhe dreams zhat he give to children helps zhem have wonderful imagination and gives zhem happiness."

Then I joined in as well. "And my job is to make sure that the kids have fun. As long as they believe in those possibilities and dreams, they won't have to fear anything. And it also keeps the children's hopes and beliefs in us alive, so it's our job as guardians to protect them."

Lantern stared at me, then at North, and then Sandy. His eyes were wide from amazement. "Wow, so your guys' job are really tough, but so important. It must be a lot of work to keep the children of the world to keep believing in you guys."

"It is, but we love our jobs anyways," I said.

"What about Tooth? She's the Guardian of Memories, right? What does that have to do with collecting teeth?" Lantern asked, curiously.

"Every teeth hold memories of childhood of the children, so vhen zhey forget or become sad, she will help zhem remember zhe happy and good times. Her job is to store and protect zhose memories and help children remember vhen it is needed," explained North.

On the side, Sandy was demonstrating North's explanation with sand figures of the fairies collecting the teeth and storing them at their palace.

"And zhat my boy is vhy ve are called Guardians. Ve are Guardians of Childhood and it's our duty to protect zhe children."

I could tell Lantern was very interested in this guardian business because his eyes were twinkling with excitement like an kid at a fair.

Suddenly, we heard crashes and shatters coming from outside North's office. All I could think of was "_Uh oh_... _what did those wisps do now?_'

"Vhat vas zhat?" wondered North and was about to walk out the door to check it out.

Lantern quickly blocked the door way in front of North. "Uh hey, North, thanks for the tour, but I need to get back to Blacksburg. Abby is expecting me and I don't want to be late. So yeah, let me get my wisps and I'll be off," he said really quickly and he jetted out the door.

Both North and Sandy looked surprise and confused at Lantern's behavior. I, for one, knew why.

"Yeah... and I gotta go too since I have a scheduled snow storm somewhere in... Burgess. So see ya guys!" I quickly flew out the door too without letting both the old men say anything.

"Vhat vas zhat all about?"

* * *

**~Lantern's POV~**

Phew! I thought I would be in serious trouble when I heard all that racket from outside North's office. Good thing I was able to prevent North from stepping out of the office to check out what was happening outside, so I was able to round up all the wisps that was causing chaos in the work place. I can't believe the wisps drove an airship into the dinning hall! They broke several glasses and plates! I had to beg the yetis and elves to help me clean up the mess without letting North find out. Frost also came after me and helped out as well.

I hope North didn't notice the missing tablewares.

It didn't take us long to clean with so many hands helping out, so we finished quickly and left North's place with the use of portal-making-snow globes without a hitch.

Frost went back to his hometown in Burgess to check on things there... and probably make some snow days for kids to skip school again.

I headed for Blacksburg as well. I gripped the easter basket excitedly, wondering what reaction Abby would make when she sees it. Imagining her bright happy face made my chest feel warm.

"There's my house," I announced to the wisps, who were flying behind me. I could see my house in the distance and I took a fast dive towards it.

The wisps were giggling excitedly as they dived after me.

_Hi hi hi hi hi hi hi hi hi hi hi hi hi!_

Then I slowed down to make a landing in the backyard. When I landed on the ground on my feet safely, I looked at the open window of Abby's room.

"Abby!" I called out loudly. "Abby! I'm back!"

Strangely, there was only silence.

"Huh... Maybe their not home," I thought, a little disappointed. I really wanted to give Abby her easter basket too. I guess I came here hurriedly for nothing.

Then I heard a sound of an engine roaring at the front of the house. They must be home now. Great timing! I guess it wasn't a waste of time after all. I flew towards the front yard, hoping to see a small light brown hair girl hopping out of the dark blue mini van. But instead, I saw my mother coming out of the vehicle with tears in her eyes.

Why was she crying?

"Come on, honey. The police will find her," I heard my dad trying to assure her.

"It's been days already and she hasn't been found yet! What if something happened to her!" my mother shouted at him.

What was going on? What were they talking about? Where's Abby?

"Have hope, sweetheart. She has to be alright. I know it. She disappeared once and we found her, so I believe we'll find her again," said my father, hugging my mother assuringly.

"Please be alright, Abby... Please... come home soon...," my mother cried through her tears, wrapping her arms around my father desperately.

I felt my heart dropped and my body froze in shock. Everything around me became quiet and still as if someone pushed the pause button on a TV. My hand lost its grip and the basket fell onto the ground, causing the eggs to scatter and roll all over the ground, but I didn't bother to pick them up. The only thing that was buzzing in my mind was...

Abby was missing.

* * *

Thank you for reading. Please comment or leave feedback or suggestions.


	15. Chapter 13 Shadows and Nightmares

**Disclaimer: I do not own the ROTG universe or its original characters. This story is written within the ROTG universe. The rest of the characters belong to me.**

**Oops! Looks like I accidently swapped the last chapter's title in the 'chapter menu' button without noticing. So now it's fixed. This chapter is Shadows and Nightmares, not chapter 12. Sorry, my bad ^^;**

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**Chapter 13: Shadows and Nightmares**

**~Abby's Side~**

It was a still snowy winter in January and in the forest beside a town, a little girl with light brown hair and in a pink hooded jacket and red pants was wandering through the trees in search for someone.

"Pumpkin!" she yelled out. Her voice echoed through the forest, but there was no reply.

It's been so many days since the last time she had seen her big brother and his pretty light friends. Not even the guy with white hair with the same name as her brother has been coming to play either. They haven't come for so long that she became impatient and decided to go into the forest herself.

She had been wandering in the forest for about an hour already and there were no sign of her brother or the pretty lights. She wondered where they could've gone.

"Pumpkin?" she called again. Silence.

Abby was getting more and more depress and tired after wandering the forest for so long. She thought of going back home, but she couldn't remember how to get back. She had wandered too deep into the forest that she didn't recognized any of the trees or landmarks.

_Snap!_

There was a sudden loud snap of a twig breaking. Abby jumped and quickly turned around. She hoped that it might be her brother, but when she looked around, she didn't see anybody.

"Pumpkin?" She called out, hoping that it was her brother playing a prank again. There weren't any replies, but she heard shuffling of leaves. Was her brother playing hide-and-seek?

Then that's when she heard her brother's voice.

_Abby..._

"Pumpkin!" She called out cheerfully.

_Abby, come here..._

"Pumpkin? Where are you?" She asked, a little confused to why she didn't see her brother.

_Come here... Follow me..._

"Pumpkin? Don' weave me," she started to cry out, afraid that her brother will leave her. She quickly ran to where the voice was coming from. Not knowing that the voice she heard was not her brother's and it was leading her deeper and deeper into the forest.

Nine days had passed and she was not seen since then.

* * *

**~Lantern's POV~**

My chest was burning and my brain was buzzing as I searched through the forest, hoping to find any sign of my little sister. I swore I looked everywhere in the forest that Abby could possibly wandered to. The wisps were also scattered all over the place searching for her. We searched for hours until the sky was getting dark. We couldn't find a single clue to where Abby could be. I was getting more and more desperate as more time passed by.

Where was she? Where'd she go?

The sun was already gone from the sky and the forest was pitch dark. Unfortunately, the moon was covered by the clouds, so it was going to be total darkness here tonight. On the other hand, I had my lantern and my fire power, so I had no problem with light sources.

"Abby!" I've yelled out through the forest. No luck. I've been doing this for the pass several hours. I was getting tired physically and mentally.

Finally, I went back to the old oak tree where my small house was since it was the wisps' and my meeting place. When I arrived at the oak tree, the wisps started to appear and gathered around me.

"Did you guys find anything?" I asked, hopefully.

_Nuh uh..._

They answered sadly.

My hope dispersed and I felt my legs weakened. I fell down onto my knees in total exhaustion and hopelessness. I was lost. I didn't know what else to do. I looked everywhere, but there was no sign of her at all.

Suddenly, I heard something in the distance.

_Klopp klopp klopp klopp_

My whole body froze when I heard the familiar sounds of hooves hitting the ground. I couldn't believe it at first, but the sounds were clear and distant.

And there were more than one.

My mind must be playing tricks with me since this wasn't a dream. I even pinched myself to check. It hurt.

The wisps noticed my strange behavior and looked confused. When they heard the sounds of hooves and saw my pale face, they knew something must be wrong.

I seriously hoped that those hooves were coming from normal horses, but what was a herd of horses doing in this forest. There weren't any horses around here in the first place!

I felt chills going down the back of my neck and my instinct yelled for me to run. I knew right away that my nightmare had just became reality.

"They're coming...," I said through my shaky voice. "RUN!"

I flew as fast as I could through the trees. It almost felt like the nightmares I had before, but this time it was different. I can fly and I wasn't alone. The wisps looked scared and confused as they flew behind me, not knowing what we were running away from. We kept flying without knowing where we were going, but we could hear the sounds of hooves thundering on the ground, closer and closer.

_Klopp! Klopp! Klopp! Klopp! Klopp! Klopp! Klopp! _

_Hiiiiiiiiiii!_

The cry of horses could be heard behind us and the wisps began to freak out at their unknown pursuers.

"Just keep flying!" I yelled.

_Klopp! Klopp! Klopp! Klopp! Klopp! Klopp! _

The thundering hooves continued to follow behind us.

Then I remembered something and turned around to face the beasts. I could see several dark black shapes of horses running towards us just like in my nightmares. But this time, I can use my fire powers, so I sent a half a dozen fire wolves at them.

The fire wolves dashed towards the black horses like the hunters they were. The black horses seemed to stop in their tracks in surprise, but then they dashed forward again, unafraid. When they clashed into each other, the wolves pounced, clawed, and bit into the black horses while the other side kicked, rammed, and stomped onto them. It was a ferocious battle of fire and darkness.

There were some of the black horses that slipped through the battle and headed for me. When they galloped into the air, I felt my heart froze.

Great! They can _fly_!?

They headed towards me and my wisps. Their glowing evil eyes glared at us menacingly and their breathing was loud and hard.

I quickly shot several fireballs the size of basketballs and blew up three of the beasts. They burst into a puff of... black sand?

I didn't get to sink in the idea that the black horses were made of black sand in time, because there were still two more coming our way. I flew into the air to dodge them and sent a wave of fire blades back. Both were hit.

_Yay!_ The wisps cheered

_Hiiiiiiiiiiii!_

_Aaaah!_ They screamed.

We looked down at the ground below and saw more black horses coming towards me. The fire wolves were being outnumbered and were getting taken out one by one. I immediately created a large flock of fire eagles and sent them at the horses.

The flaming large birds were the size of cars and there were almost hundreds of them! I was so desperate to defend myself I just made so many out of instinct. The large fire birds swooped down towards the black horses with their sharp talons spread out. The flaming birds were clawing and pecking upon reaching their enemies.

Even though the fire eagles were keeping most of the black sand beasts busy, somehow, more seemed to appear out of nowhere. Even I had to throw several fireballs, fire slash, and fire shields around the wisps and myself when the black beasts came at us. I kept defending myself as more and more of the dark beasts kept coming. No matter how many I destroyed, more just kept coming.

The fire eagles were also going out one by one as they get more and more outnumbered. Where were these black horses coming from?

I was also getting more exhausted by the minute. It looked like I might've used up too much of my powers and I was running dry fast, but these horses won't stop coming!

"You guys get into the lantern! Quick!" I ordered the wisps. I won't be able to hold out much longer and right now I just want to get these guys in a safe place.

The wisps immediately flew into the lantern, so now I was alone in this battle. I continued to blow up as many black horses as possible. I just needed the right moment to escape, but I was losing time fast.

The last of the fire eagles was gone and I was entirely alone, fighting this hopeless battle. My body was getting exhausted and I could feel my reflex getting slower. It finally gotten to the point where one of the dark beasts knocked me from behind. Being weak as I am, I was knocked out for a few seconds in shock and pain. I fell several feet through the sky. I gained my consciousness long enough to see a large black cloud of black horses diving towards me. My mind was too tired to think straight or fast enough, so it wasn't long before the dark horses surrounded me in a spiral sphere and engulfed me in total darkness.

And I lost consciousness once again.

* * *

**~North's POV~**

_Smash! _

I swore in Russian when I jumped in shock from the sound of something smashed to pieces. When I looked around the table where I was carving a new toy model out of ice, I saw an old lamp on ground, broken to pieces. That lamp was an old and rusty oil lamp with a vase shaped glass at the top to keep the flame from burning anyone. I haven't used that old thing for so long, so it was sitting on the shelf, catching dust.

Not sure how it fell over since there was no breeze, but I could feel something was wrong. I knew right away that this must be an omen. A bad one at that.

How do I know?

I felt it in my belly, of course!

Also, when I looked at the broken lamp, I thought of Lantern. Something must've happened to him.

"Yeti!" I called loudly for the yetis.

Two yetis came running when they heard me calling them. They looked at me as if wondering what I wanted.

"Find Lantern!" I ordered. "If you can't find him. Find Frost. I have very bad feeling zhat somezhing not good is happening again."

* * *

**~Lantern's POV~**

My whole body felt stiff and sore. Not to mention, I seemed to be lying on some cold hard floor. There were loud chatters all around me, but it sounded almost distant. As I slowly regain conscious, the chatters got louder. I slowly opened my eyes as my head started to feel more awake. Then I pushed my self up into a sitting position with my legs cross.

"Ugh... What happened?" I wondered.

It turned out that the loud chatters were my wisps. It seemed that they've been trying to wake me up for ages were relieved to see me conscious now. They also seemed worried and nervous about something.

That's when I noticed my surroundings. I looked around to see where I was and I found out that I was _not_ in Blacksburg anymore. I wasn't sure where this place was since I've never seen this place before. It was like an underground palace. There were also some light shinning from the ceiling, but most of the place was covered by the shadows. The place was cold and strangely silent. I didn't see anything alive at all. There were several cages hanging from the ceiling, but there was nothing inside. Several bridges and stairways made of stone were everywhere. There were also stone walls and structures all over the place. The place was like some ancient underground maze going in every direction. When I stood up, I felt the emptiness in my hand.

"Where's my lantern?" I wondered out loud, a little panic in my voice.

The wisps quickly blabbered excitedly and flew behind me. I quickly turned around and found my lantern pole lying on the ground not too far away from me. Phew! Thought I lost it.

"Thanks, guys," I thanked the wisps. Then I picked the lantern pole up and held it tightly in my grasp. I didn't want to lose it again or I would feel like a part of myself was gone. "And now it's time to figure out how I got here in the first place."

I tried to recall how I got here. I started to remember the black horses attacking me and I tried to fight back, but lost miserably. That's when I remembered what happened before the dark beasts attacked. I was looking for Abby!

"Shoot! We were supposed to find Abby! I have to get back home quick, but first, where the hell am I anyways?" I looked around, confused. How am I supposed to find my way home when I can't even find the exit from this place?

I looked at the wisps if they had any ideas, but they frown and shook their heads to show that they too didn't know the way out. Great! I guess there's no choice but to look around the place until we find it.

So my wisps and I roamed around the place for awhile, trying to find the glowing exit sign somewhere. We walked the stairways and down. We crossed several bridges and walked through just as many archways. The more I walked, the more I felt lost.

Where the hell was the _map_ of this place!?

Just when I was about to get really frustrated, I heard something move in the shadows.

_Swoosh!_

I turned around in reflex, but I didn't see what it was in time. My wisps squeaked in surprised since they also felt and heard the movement and began to look around nervously.

_Swoosh!_

Then I saw something at the corner of my eye... Something black. I turned around immediately, but I still didn't see it clearly. I started to look around, hoping to catch the glimpse of what it was. I turned left, nothing. I turned right, nothing again.

My wisps were also getting freaked out and began to hide behind me for security. My protective instincts began to kick in and my awareness for my surroundings started to increase. I thought of those black horses I fought earlier so I was prepared for anymore surprise attack from them. I looked left and right, prepared to defend myself and my wisps. Then I heard a voice from behind me.

"Are you looking for something?"

_AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!_

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" HOLY CHOCOLATE CHIP PUMPKIN PIE!

Both the wisps and I screamed our lungs out and jumped into the air in shock. I hovered in the air while the wisps hid behind me, shaking in fear. I looked down at who it was and saw a dark figure looking at me with interest.

"Jumpy, aren't you? Did I _scare_ you?" A black hair and pale skin man in a long black robe stood below me. His amber yellow eyes stared at me fascinatingly and there was a mysterious sneer across his face. Something about this man seemed suspicious and frightening. I didn't know why, but I felt like I met him before. But that can't be right since I would recognized a pale man in a black robe like him right away, so why?

"Uh... Pretty much," I replied, still a little shaky from before. "So who are you?...Uh, I'm Jack O. Lanternson by the way... Do you live here? Am I trespassing?"

"I'm Pitch Black," answered the man, "And yes, this is my home, but you're not trespassing. I was the one who had you brought here." He smiled at, but for some reason it looked more like a sneer to me.

"Pitch Black?" I whispered, realizing who he was. Frost and the other Guardians told me about him before! "You're the guy who tried to bring fear and nightmares to the kids when the last time Frost and the guys fought you!... And what do you mean you _brought_ me here?"

"I see you've heard of me from those losers. I'm touched," he said, sounding pleased in a creepy way.

"What do you want?!" I demanded, suspiciously.

Suddenly, his body turned to black smoke and flew around me before he appeared from within it. "Franked, aren't you?" he said right next to my ear with his hands on my shoulder.

_Aaaaaaahhhhhhhh!_

The wisps screamed loudly in shock which made me jumped as well. He came behind us too freaking fast!

"I just wanted to meet this new spirit in person. I've been watching you for some time now," he said as he floated around as if he was walking on air. Well, actually, he literary was _walking on air_.

"Watching? You've been spying on me?" I demanded in shock.

"Not spying. _Observing_," he corrected me.

How's that any different?

"I've notice that you enjoy playing tricks and scaring people, don't you," he said, still walking around.

"Well... yeah... but not to the point where they're having nightmares like you do!" I snapped back.

"Oh but what's the difference? We both enjoy scaring people for fun. Making them terrified. Making them scream in horror. It's so much fun," he said gleefully. "Don't you agree, Jack."

"NO!... well... not entirely. I scare people, yes, but making them have nightmares is a-whole-nother thing!" I argued back. "My pranks are the kinds that are just for kicks and laughs. The kind we can joke around. Yours makes them miserable!"

"So you think your scares are harmless? You may not realize, but each time when you scare someone, it leaves a mark of fear inside their hearts," he explained in his evil amusing tone.

I went silent.

"You can't tell people it was a joke since they can't see or hear you. They would think it's something evil or demonic like they always do when something frightening and can't be explain happens. Even if it was small, it's still there and it can grow over time. They would become wary. Suspicious. Afraid," Suddenly, he appeared behind me again, because I could feel his presence and his hands on my shoulders again. Then he whispered in my ear in a low cold voice, "And that, Jack, turns into nightmares."

"Shut up!" I swung around and threw a flame slash.

Pitch already disappeared before the flame slash hit and reappeared again on a stone bridge below me.

"You may try to deny all you want, but I know that you already accepted that fact. You can't run away from the truth, boy," he stated with a menacing sneer. "No matter what you do, it will only lead to fear."

Then, appearing from the shadows of the dark buildings were several black horses. The very same ones that attacked me in the forest in Blacksburg. I stared at the dark menacing creatures as they gathered around Pitch like a dark army behind its evil master.

I stared at the black beasts that stood around the dark man in nervousness. I could also hear my wisps shivering in fear and nervousness behind me.

"You have the potential, Lanternson. You have the desire _and_ the ability to bring fear, but yet you hold yourself back out of guilt. It's such a waste of talent," he said in a fake pity voice.

"No! Your wrong!" I yelled at him in anger. "It's not guilt that held me back. It's my sense of morals! Scaring can only go so far. There's still a limit to what's okay and what's not. Scaring can be fun for both sides if you know your limit."

"You seriously believe that? I guess there's a lot more to teach than I thought," said Pitch.

"Teach? What?" I wondered, confused from trying to figure what he meant by that.

"I'm saying, boy, that you'll need some training if you're to become my right-hand man," he answered.

Now that knocked my shoes off. He said what now?

"Right-hand man? Is this what all this kidnapping and spying was all about? You just want a henchman? Well, too bad, Mr. Black, but I ain't signing up for that. Besides, my friends are the Guardians, your _enemies_, so there's no way I'm joining you," I coldly rejected his offer.

Then he laughed coldly as if what I said was merely a joke. "Do you seriously believe that they're your friends? You probably don't know this, but every time you create fear in someone, it makes me stronger."

I stared at him in disbelief. "What?"

"You may think there your friends now, but when they find out that your pranks are scaring the children and making me stronger, they'll kick you out immediately... Or maybe even try to get rid of you."

"No..." I tried not to listen to him, but his words were slipping into my ears and into my mind.

"They'll brand you evil and a threat to the children. Then they'll imprison you underneath the earth... just like what they did with me," Pitch sneered evilly as he watched me.

I felt like someone just poured a bucket of ice water over my head. I felt dread and anxiety growing inside my chest. Could it be true? Will the Guardians abandon me once they find out that I've been creating fear?

Like a spark of hope, I remembered the times that spent with the guardians. The fun times I spent with Frost. The pleasure of watching eggs being painted with Bunny. The assurance Sandy gave me when I was down. The warm welcome that Tooth gave me when we first met. And the time that North showed what it meant to be a guardian. "No..." I said under my breath.

"Umm, sorry?" Pitch asked, unsure what I just said.

"I said 'No'. No matter what happens, they're still my friends. They believe in me and I believe in them, so I'll never turn my back on them. Go find someone else to be your henchman since I WON'T."

"I'm sorry, but did I make it sound like you have a choice?" He stared at me with a calm expression as if he wasn't surprise I rejected him. "I knew you wouldn't agree since you've been hanging with those loser guardians for far too long, so I'll make this clear. You _will_ be my right-hand man, willingly or not."

I felt chills going down my spines when he said that. Something about what he said didn't sound very good at all.

"What do you mean? What makes you think I'll listen to you?" I demanded, trying to keep a brave face.

"Almost two weeks ago, my Nightmares stumbled upon something interesting in a forest. I believe it was somewhere in Blacksburg," he said with an evil grin across his face.

Now that caught my full attention. I felt something about what he said sounded familiar. And I have this really bad hunch about it too. Please let it not be what I think it might be.

With a waved of his hand, Pitch conjured a large black shadow from the ground before him. The black shadow began to form into a large sphere. When the shadow burst and evaporated, a large bird cage appeared and inside the cage was a small figure that I was too familiar with. It was a little girl with short brown hair and wore a pink hooded jacket and red pants. Her face was buried in her knee with her arms hugging her legs, She was huddled in a corner, making it hard to spot her if it wasn't for her bright colored clothes.

"Abby!" I cried in shock. So I was right. Pitch did kidnapped her.

The wisps also exclaimed loudly and began to chatter like crazy upon seeing her.

The little girl inside the cage lifted her head when she heard us. Her face was pale and scared, but when she saw me, her expression brightened up.

"Pumpkin!" She called back. She immediately jumped onto her feet and ran to the side of the cage closest to me. "Pumpkin! Pumpkin!" She kept calling, tears forming in her eyes.

My wisps and I immediately dived down towards her, ignoring the large army of Nightmares around us. Once I got to the cage, I grabbed her hands that were sticking out from the bars, trying to reach me, and held them tightly in my hands.

"Abby, how'd you get here? Why weren't you at home? Mom and dad are worried sick!" I told her, worriedly. The wisps also blabber in worry around me.

"Pumpkin, I'm scwared. I wanna go hwome," she cried.

"Everything will be fine, Abby. I'll get you home as soon as possible," I assured her.

But before I could completely stop her from crying, the cage was engulfed by the shadows that appeared like a large amount of black smoke. I couldn't see anything and tried to hold onto her hands as I called her name in panic.

"Abby! Abby!"

"Pump..."

One second I felt her small tiny hands, the next, they were gone. The shadow disappeared and so did the cage and Abby. Inside of me, I felt like someone popped a balloon and left a shocking silent. My mind just kept replaying her scared and teary face again and again. Then I felt something burning up. It was swelling bigger and bigger.

"Now do you understand why you don't have a choice in this matter. As long as you do what I say, no harm will fall upon that little girl, understood?" said Pitch, staring at me with grin that said that he had already won.

Then I felt something burning up. It was swelling bigger and bigger. My whole body was heating up and as if it was about to explode from all my anger. I could feel my powers leaking out and burning brightly as if my body was on fire.

I never noticed this until Frost told me once that when I get angry, my body tends to catch on fire from the outburst of energy inside of me.

And right now, I'm beyond _furious_.

"AAARRRRGGGHHHH!" I screamed out and flew towards Pitch. I couldn't think of anything but wanting to beat this guy to the point where he wished he never messed with me and my sister.

Just when I was about to send the guy flying with a large fire blast, the Nightmares quickly gathered in front of the dark man like a shield. Some of the dark horses got blown up into billions of black sand in the process, but the rest pounced on me and kept me down on the cold hard floor. I tried to wiggle myself free, but the dark horses morphed themselves into something like a rope and tied me up. I couldn't move at all! I tried to send another blast of flames from my body, but the black sand kept covering me every time a flame leaked out.

The wisps were able to fly away in time before the black sand hit and were crying in panic and worry for me. They tried to get closer to me, but the black sand were whipping at them, keeping them away. They couldn't do anything, but watch with terrified faces.

"Now aren't we a fiery one," I heard pitch from above me. When I looked up, he was already standing in front of me and looking down with an amuse grin.

I swore and cursed furiously at him. "Let go of my sister! You ba...!"

"Tut tut tut, such foul language," he waved his finger around in disapproval. Then he kneeled down and lifted my chin, so our eyes would connect. "Looks like I have a lot of work cut out for me, but no worries. I know a way to tame that little fire in you."

* * *

Thank you for reading. Please comment or leave feedback or suggestions.

Finals is done, so that means it's SUMMER VACATION! Woohoo! I'm free! *starts to dance the disco*


	16. Chapter 14 Flames of Betrayal

**Disclaimer: I do not own the ROTG universe or its original characters. This story is written within the ROTG universe. The rest of the characters belong to me.**

**Even though it's Summer vacation, I can't believe I still feel so busy from just trying to catch up with shows, books, and games. So much to do, but so little time before I have to go to Japan next month. _**

* * *

**Chapter 14: Flames of Betrayal**

**~Frost's POV~**

For a whole week, I've been searching for Lantern all over the West Coast, especially Virginia. I circled all over that state more than ten times! But there was no sign of the flaming red head anywhere.

When I first got called by North a week ago, he told me Lantern was missing. I thought Lantern was probably at his old home where his family was, so I went to check it out. But when I arrived there, not only was Lantern not there, I also found out that Abby was also missing long before Lantern returned to Blacksburg.

I got worried and had been looking for him since. The other guardians were also worried as well and tried their best to help find him. North would fly on his sleigh every night after work and travel to several places, looking for him. Tooth also told her tiny fairies to keep an eye out when they were out on the field. Even Bunny had been using his tunnels to travel to many locations searching for him. For Sandy, he had been gone for the whole week when he found out Lantern was missing and hadn't contacted me or the other guardians since then.

Where could Lantern be? Where was Abby? Did something happened? I had no doubt that Lantern's disappearance must be related to Abby's as well. I had this horrible feeling that something really bad must've happened to them.

After hours of searching in Florida, I decided to go visit North, hoping that he had some clues to where Lantern could be. The wind knew I was in a hurry so it was especially strong tonight, so I flew all the way to the North pole within a few hours. When I arrived at North's workshop, I found the old red man staring at the giant globe.

"North, what's the matter? Did something happen to the lights?" I asked worriedly as I flew to his side.

"Zhe lights flickering," he said as he pointed to a spot on the globe. It was Africa. Like what he said, the lights were flickering in and out around the south of that continent. "Somezhing has happened to children zhere."

"The lights hasn't flickered this bad since Pitch...," when that name slipped out of my mouth, I felt chills going down my neck and it wasn't from my powers. "Do you think Pitch might be back?" I asked North, worried.

"Not sure, but ve must gazher zhe ozher guardians quick and head zhere." After he said that, he activated the signal to the other guardians that took the form of a beautiful aurora. The aurora spread through the skies rapidly and within minutes, the other guardians arrived.

The first guardian to arrive was Bunny. Then came Tooth with Baby Tooth by her side. Then last came Sandy not long after.

"So what was the emergency, mate?" wondered Bunny. "Is it about Lantern?"

"We came as soon as we saw the signal," said Tooth. Baby Tooth flew beside her and was also making sharp and high pitch squeaks.

Over his head, Sandy had his sands formed a question mark and a figure of Lantern's head as if asking about Lantern's whereabouts.

"Somezhing is vrong vith zhe lights. Zhe children are in trouble once again," North answered while staring at the globe. Some of the lights that were flickering were already going out one by one.

"The lights! They're going out!" Tooth gasped in panic. Baby Tooth also made a worried squeak.

"Crikey! Then what are we waiting for?" exclaimed Bunny. "We have to get a move on!"

"Bunny's right," North agreed. "To zhe sleigh!"

"Oh crikey..." Bunny said as his ears drooped down. If he didn't have fur to cover his face, he would probably look pale white right now.

* * *

The sleigh flew through the portal made from one of North's magical snow globes and sent us to Africa in a second. The sky was dark right now since it was still night time here. The moonlight shone brightly over the African plain.

North was the one controlling the large powerful reindeers while the rest of us were sitting in the back seat. Baby Tooth was perched on my shoulder like she always does when we're together. Both Sandy and Tooth could fly if they wanted to, but prefer the sleigh ride instead. Bunny on the other hand, was practically clawing on his seat to keep himself from falling off the flying vehicle.

"You've already ridden the sleigh so many times. Shouldn't you be used to this by now?" I teased.

"Very funny, Frostbite," Bunny snapped back. "For your information, bunnies were not made to fly."

"Come on, Bunny, flying is a lot of fun if you give a try," Tooth tried to assure the Guardian of Hope.

"Ha ha _no_! I like my feet on the ground, thank you," refused Bunny in an annoyed tone. "Besides, whoever heard of a _flying_ Easter Bunny?"

"There's always a first," I replied jokingly. On my shoulder, Baby Tooth was already squeaking in laughter.

Sandy seemed to like the idea, because there was a tiny sand figure of Bunny with jetpacks flying over his head. The little man also nodded and gave a thumbs up.

"There's no way I'm gonna...!" Before Bunny could finish his argument, North suddenly cut in.

"I hate to spoil zhe fun, but you should see zhis," he told us.

We all looked up ahead to see what he meant. Further ahead beyond the plain, we saw a large black cloud rising into the night air and an orange glow on the ground where the source of black cloud was coming from.

"Is that smoke?" I wondered out loud.

"Crikey! It's a wildfire!" Bunny cried out in shock.

"Sandy! Tooth! Go on ahead and see if zhere's anyone zhat might need help," ordered North.

"I'm on it!" Tooth replied. Then both Tooth and Sandy shot into the air and flew ahead of us.

"I'm going too!" I told North before flying off after Tooth and Sandy with Baby Tooth tucked in my hood of my sweater.

When the four of us got there, we discovered there was a large fire burning through the plains. With the dry grass and trees, the fire quickly spread and moved through the grassy plains. Even from where we were hovering, we can feel the burning heat hitting our faces. The flames roared like a monster, devouring everything in its path.

While Tooth and I stared at the large burning flames spreading through the plains in shock, Sandy had to use his sand to catch our attention. He made an arrow with his sand appear in front of us and pointed in a certain direction.

We both looked at Sandy and then at the direction his arrow was pointing at. The spot where the arrow was pointing at was a small town and it was also starting to catch fire.

"There's a town over there and it's catching fire!" yelled Tooth.

We immediately flew towards the village and spotted people running away from the burning houses. There were screams and cries of fear and panic as they ran for their lives. Many were carrying their belongs that they could grab. Parents were grabbing their children to get to safety. The animals were all running and flying away in fear of the monstrous flames.

"We need to put out the fire! Quick!" shouted Tooth.

"I'm on it!" I told her. Then I shot several blue sparks of light from my staff, putting out the fire with my ice powers.

Sandy was also using his sand to put out the flames like how people would throw dirt at burning campfire.

Tooth didn't have any powers to put the flames out, so she quickly grabbed a bucket from the ground and scooped water from nearby stone basins and large water jars to extinguish as much flames as possible.

After five minutes, we were able to keep the fire under control and got rid of most of the fire in the village. While I was freezing more houses from the flames, I had this weird feeling that this wildfire didn't seem right. How can such a large fire started in the middle of the night and spread so fast?

Then Baby Tooth started to squeak really loudly and tugged on my hood to grab my attention.

"What's wrong?" I asked. Wondering what was wrong with her, I turned around out of instinct and I did just in time to quickly dodge something that flew at me. It looked like a bird, but...

It was on fire!

"What the...?" I exclaimed, surprise.

When I looked carefully at the blazing bird, I notice that the large eagle like bird was really on fire, but the flames were not harming it. As a matter of fact, the bird _was_ made of fire!

This can't be right! The only person who can make animals from fire was Lantern!

Before I could figure out what was going on. More large flame birds came out of nowhere and surrounded me. I swear there were about a hundred of them swarming the sky. They swooped down from the skies with their talons spread out, ready to claw me.

"Stay hidden!" I told Baby Tooth, which she complied.

I had to dodge and send ice blasts at them to defend myself and Baby Tooth, who was hiding in my hood. The birds were really fast and there were too many of them. It was hard trying to protect myself and not get burn in the process.

"Jack! Watch out!"

I suddenly heard someone yell out from nearby and something exploded behind me. When I turned around, I saw Tooth with two long swords in her hands. She had her back towards me. It looks like she just took out a fire bird in my blind spot.

"Where'd did these guys come from? They don't look like they belong to Pitch," wondered Tooth.

I didn't say anything. I had this hunch that I might knew who, but I didn't want to admit it.

"Hiyah!" Tooth slashed at another fire bird that came at her and it screeched loudly before it faded away into thin air.

"Where're the others?" I shouted to her while blasting a fire bird and dodging another.

"There's more of them on the ground and Sandy's dealing with them. They ambushed us out of nowhere!" told Tooth.

Suddenly, I heard something flying through the air and it hit two of the fire birds, putting them out. The object that took out the birds came flying back in an arc path in the same direction it came from. When I turned around, I saw the object flying into Bunny's hand. It was his boomerang.

Bunny was standing on the sleigh in his attack position, his fear for flying gone. North was holding the reins with one hand while swinging his own sword around.

"Zhe cavalry has arrived!" North yelled out as he swung his sword at a fire bird, extinguishing it.

"Bunny! North!" I cried out, glad to see them. They came just in time.

"Sandy needs help on the ground! There's more of them there than in the air!" Tooth quickly told them.

North immediately flew the sleigh down towards the ground with Bunny to go help the Sandman.

"We need to get rid of these guys quick, so we can go help them too," I told Tooth. Then a thought struck in my head. "I have an idea. Tooth, cover me for a few seconds. When I give the signal, fly as far away as possible."

Tooth nodded that she understood. She gripped her swords tightly and went on a sword-slashing frenzy on the birds. She was darting all over the place, slashing and stabbing as many fire birds as possible to give me time.

I concentrated on my powers to accumulate inside of me as much as possible. It wasn't easy, but I could feel the energy gathering and increasing. I've been trying to do the same explosion that happened when my powers exploded from my anger when Pitch took out Sandy. After many trainings with the guardians, I didn't need to be angry to create the same explosion again, but I still needed a lot of concentration

Once I felt I had reached my limit, I shouted to Tooth, "Now!"

Tooth immediately stopped attacking and flew off as fast and far away as possible.

Once Tooth was out of the danger range, I released the large amount of energy inside of me and my ice powers blasted in every direction around me. It was like a cold blizzard blew through the sky like an explosion, freezing everything within range. All the large flaming birds were completely wiped out.

I, on the other hand, lost so much energy, I blacked out for a few seconds. Luckily, Tooth caught me in time when I did, so I didn't find myself waking up to see myself hitting the ground.

"I got you," said Tooth when she grabbed my hand when I fell from the sky.

"Thanks," I thanked her.

Baby Tooth came out from the hood and squeaked at me in worry.

"I'm alright, Baby Tooth. Just a bit worn out," I assured her.

Baby Tooth didn't look convince, but she didn't make anymore squeaks.

Tooth quickly flew down to the ground and gently put me down. I landed on the ground with my feet and held my staff as my support.

"Tooth, you go help the others first. I'll catch up behind you," I quickly told her.

"Alright, but be careful," she said before she flew off.

I looked around at the almost burnt down village. The buildings were either burnt away or covered in ashes. Some of the houses were already collapsing from the support being damaged.

While I tried to rest to regain some of my energy again, I heard growls coming from behind me. I turned around and found what looked like two flaming lions, slowly walking towards.

Baby Tooth shrilled in panic upon seeing the intimidating beasts and tried to pull me up.

"Oh come on! Can't I even get a break?" I cried out in frustration.

The fire lions bare their teeth at me and growled threateningly. Their mane was flowing wildly like the fire they were. Their large claws unsheathed, ready to attack.

I pointed my staff at the them, ready to send another ice bolt in their direction. I just hope I had enough energy to do so.

Before I could send a bolt of ice at the two beasts, an explosion of fire came bursting out of nowhere behind the two flame beasts. The flames rose about ten feet in the air and then slowly died down. As the fire slowly disappeared, a figure appeared from within the flames. I stared in shock and confusion. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw who was standing there. Those glowing red hair that danced like flames and that creepy lantern pole in his hand, there was no doubt that it was him.

"Lantern?" His names left my lips unconsciously. Why was he here? Where did he disappeared to all this time? Was this large scale wildfire his doing? So many questions were running through my minds. I stared at the fire lions standing between Lantern and I as if they were guarding their master. So they _were_ his.

From inside my hood, I could hear Baby Tooth chirping in surprise. I could tell from her tone that she was as shock and confused as I was.

"Lantern! Did you do this? Did you created this fire?" I demanded. "Wh...why are you doing this? Where did you go all this time? You disappeared for a whole week!"

Lantern didn't say anything. He just stared at me with a blank look in his eyes. Now that I took a good look at him, he didn't look like his usual self. His face looked pale and tired and there were dark shadows under his eyes. His clothes looked tattered and worn out. Even his flaming red hair and yellow eyes didn't look bright like it used to. It was as if the glow was slowly dying away.

"Lantern, what happened to you?" I asked worriedly.

Lantern stayed silent, but the fire lions dashed towards me, roaring loudly.

* * *

**~Sandy's Side~**

The flames were quickly spreading from one house to the other. Sandy was trying his best to put them out with his sand as fast as possible, but it wasn't easy doing that while trying to fend off flame creatures that were attacking him.

_Grrrrrrrrr_

A pack of fire hyenas and cheetahs surrounded him like a trap prey. They growled menacingly at him as they slowly walked closer and closer to the Guardian of Dreams.

Sandy looked around him to see how many of the creatures there were and where each of them stood. When he got the information he needed, he quickly created a herd of elephants from his sand.

The elephants stampeded towards the flame beasts, stomping their foot loudly. The flame beasts tried to pounce onto the golden elephants, but the elephants rammed into them and whipped their trunks around, smacking their opponents. The fire hyenas tried to bite and claw at the elephants in groups while the cheetahs were jumping onto their backs. The elephants stomped onto a nearby flame hyenas and swung its trunk on any fire cheetahs that tried to jump on them. It was like a battle of survival from a wildlife channel, but the creatures were either made of glowing gold sand or blazing orange flames.

When Sandy thought he had the flame creatures distracted, a fire cheetah came from behind and was about to pounce on him when something came flying from behind. It flew right through the cheetah's flame body and the creature dispersed into thin air. Then the flying object flew back from whence it came from in an arc.

Sandy immediately turned around when he felt the creature blew up from behind him and discovered that help had arrived.

"Oy! Need some help?" called Bunny, catching his boomerang. Then he slashed at oncoming fire hyenas with his two boomerangs like dual blades. He jumped high into the air, dodging four fire hyenas that tried to pounce on him at the same time but ended up hitting each other instead. While still in the air, Bunny threw his boomerangs towards the ground and swiped all four hyenas in one fell swoop.

Then North appeared right after and slashed at a fire cheetah that came at him. "Ha! Just like old times again!" laughed North.

Now with three guardians together, they had the advantage. Sandy whipped at every fire beasts that came his way with his sand whip while hovering in the air for height advantage. Bunny used his agility and speed to dodge and slash the creatures with his boomerangs. With his fast sword skills, North was wiping out even more of the enemies' numbers within minutes. The fire beasts were rapidly decreasing.

North was about to slash down on a fire hyena when a boomerang came out of nowhere and extinguish it first.

"Hey!" North cried out angrily at Bunny. "Zhat vas mine!"

"Not my fault you're being a slow poke," replied Bunny.

"I see vhere zhis is going," growled North. "Who ever gets zhe most fire demons vins and loser vill listen to vinner for veek!"

"Your on, you bloke!" Bunny gladly accepted the challenge.

Sandy shook his head at the two guardians for being so immature at a time like this. Then a fire hyena jumped at him, he whipped his sand and took it out in one blow.

So now the battle became more dynamic when two of the three guardians were having a race of who can take out more fire creatures. Even stealing each others' target became frequent.

"What the! Oy!" Bunny cried out when North took out _his_ targets.

"Not my fault you being slow poke," North threw back at him.

Bunny could only glare at him angrily.

Now, only a few of the fire creatures were left, two hyenas and a cheetah. North and Bunny went after them while Sandy just watched the two competitive competitors go for their targets like hunters going for their prey.

But before the two guardians could reach the creatures, something blue and green came zooming out of nowhere and quickly took out the creatures in one sweep with her two long blades.

North and Bunny froze in their tracks in surprise.

"Aw! Tooth! Zhey vere mine!" whined North.

"Not my fault you two were being a bunch of slowpokes," smirked Tooth, putting her fists on her hips playfully.

Both North and Bunny gave her a glare while Sandy was laughing behind them silently.

"Vait minute... Vhere's Jack Frost?" wondered North, noticing that the Guardian of Fun was not present.

"He's just used a lot of his energy to wipe out a whole flock of fire birds, so he's taking a short break to recharge himself. He'll catch up to us soon," explained Tooth.

"He better not be slacking off or I'll knock him senseless with _these_," Bunny said when he raised one of his boomerang to show what he meant.

_BOOM!_

Somewhere in the distance, they could hear a loud explosion.

"Blimey! What was that!?" exclaimed Bunny, his ears shot into the air in surprise.

"Oh no! That's coming from where Jack is!" Tooth cried out in worry. She immediately zoomed towards the direction where the explosion came from. North and the others quickly followed behind her.

* * *

**~Frost's POV~**

Lantern sent another large fireball in my direction, but I managed to dodge it just at the right time and caused the fireball to hit the building behind me instead.

_Boom!_

"Lantern! Why are you doing this!?" I yelled. I couldn't believe that he would attack me. What was wrong with him?

Lantern didn't say anything. He just stared at me silently.

Then I blasted one of the two fire lions and tried to blast the other one, but the other fire lion just dodged away from the ice bolt. While I was busy trying to get the last lion, Lantern conjured up another one.

I didn't notice it as first until the last minute, because it appeared right behind me. The fire lion pounced on me, catching me off guard and knocking me to the ground.

"Argh!" I cried out in pain.

The lion pinned me to the ground, but I was still able to move my staff and point it at the lion on top of me.

_Zap! _

_ROAR!_

When that lion dispersed into air, I quickly aimed at the other lion and blasted it as well.

_Zap!_

_ROAR!_

Then Baby Tooth came flying out of my hood once the lions were gone and flew over to my face, shrilling in panic and worry. She looked terrified and worried.

"Baby Tooth! What're you doing? Go hide!" I quickly told her, since I didn't want to expose her to danger. Then I noticed Lantern sending several fireballs towards Baby Tooth and I, so I quickly grab Baby Tooth out of the air and held her to my chest.

_Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!_

The fireballs blasted on impact, but none of them hit us.

Did Lantern missed?... On purpose?

Baby Tooth squeaked in terror and she quickly flew out of my hand and hid inside a nearby rusty pot on the ground for safety. At least now I can concentrate on defending myself without having to worry about Baby Tooth.

Lantern quickly sent more fireballs my way, but I dodged some while blasting the rest. When I found an opening, I quickly sent a blast of an ice bolt towards Lantern. Suddenly, a fire wall appeared from the ground around the fire spirit in protection. So when my ice bolt hit it, it created an explosion, blowing both Lantern and I in different directions.

_BOOM! Crash!_

I flew right into the wall of a burnt house, crashing into furnitures and objects inside. I felt dizzy and my body ached from the crash, but I ignored the pain and quickly got up. I flew right out of the house and it was just in time too, because the building collapsed.

Lantern also crashed into a building, so he came flying out of the hole that he created from crashing through it.

We both shot at each other with our elemental blasts at the same time. Fire and ice collided once again and exploded between us. The haze, created from our powers colliding, spread everywhere, covering our vision. As the air started to clear up, I was already huffing really hard from exhaustion. I used up too much energy and I was also injured as well.

Lantern also didn't look any different from me. He was holding onto his lantern pole for support and he was also breathing really hard. He already looked worn out earlier, now he looked completely drained.

We both stared at each other while trying to catch our breath. We were completely worn out and looked terrible.

Baby Tooth's sharp cries could also be heard from nearby. She couldn't do anything, but watch us fight. That was a good thing because she won't be in harms way.

"Frost!" Someone called out from close by. I recognized that Australian accent right away.

It was Bunny. That meant the other Guardians were coming.

I could hear their foot steps and flutters of wings getting closer. When they appeared from a corner, I could see their shock expression on their faces when they saw my appearance.

"Jack, are you alright?" asked Tooth, worriedly.

Then North noticed the other person on the battlefield and stared in shock.

"Lantern?" North called out, in disbelief.

They were all staring at the state of Lantern and I in bewilderment.

"What happened?" demanded Bunny. "And why is Lantern here?"

"Wait a minute! The fire!" Tooth realized something. "Lantern, did you do this? Did you caused all this fire?"

Lantern kept silent, but I thought I saw this pain look in his eyes.

"Lantern why?" North asked. I could hear confusion and disappointment in his voice.

Lantern turned away as if he didn't want to look at us. It was like he looked ashamed and guilty.

Then I noticed another fire wall engulfing the fire spirit. "Lantern! Wait!" I cried out towards Lantern when I realized what he was doing, but it was too late. Lantern was already gone with the flames.

Sandy also flew towards him and tried to reach out to him when he noticed the fire wall as well, but he wasn't able to get there in time. Sandy stood there, staring at the spot where Lantern was moments ago, looking heartbroken.

Baby Tooth quickly flew towards Tooth in a frenzy cry, which Tooth immediately held out her hands.

"Oh Baby Tooth, are you okay?" Tooth asked worriedly, holding Baby Tooth close to her chest in protection.

"Frost, what the bloody hell is going!?" demanded Bunny, looking really angry. "Why would Lantern do this!?"

"I don't know!" I snapped back at him. "I'm as clueless as you are!"

"Something must be vrong vith Lantern," stated North.

"Is it because of your belly again?" retorted Bunny.

"No, I don't need me belly to tell me zhat somezhing vas vrong vith him. It vas zhe look on his face."

"His face? What do you mean?" I asked, confused.

"Zhat vas face of someone zhat vas forced to do somezhing he didn't vant to do," answer North.

"Are you saying that someone is forcing him to do this?" demanded Bunny.

"Perhaps," answered North. "And I zhink I know who it is."

Then a name slipped through my lips in a whisper,

"Pitch Black..."

* * *

Thank you for reading. Please comment or leave feedback or suggestions.


	17. Chapter 15 To Believe and Hope

**Disclaimer: I do not own the ROTG universe or its original characters. This story is written within the ROTG universe. The rest of the characters belong to me.**

* * *

**Chapter 15: To Believe and Hope**

**~Lantern's POV~**

I returned to Pitch's underground lair, where Pitch was staring at a large hallow globe. There were many tiny lights shining all over the areas on the globe that represent the continents. The areas that should've been the ocean was nothing but emptiness. It was like the globe only showed the lands, but not the ocean, so the center was just hollow and empty.

I walked up and stood a good distance away from him. Without having him turning around, he already knew I had returned from my assignment.

"I see you've returned," said Pitch not bothering to turn around and look at me. "You've done well on your first mission. I can already feel the fear increasing and my powers rising by the minute," he stared at his hand and wisp of black sand swirled around in his palm. I can tell from his tone that he was very pleased with this development.

"I did what you told me to do _and_ I didn't talk to any of the guardians, so can I finally see her?" I demanded.

"Abby? Of course," answered Pitch with a creepy happy tone. "Since you've done such a good job creating fear for me, you definitely deserve a little reward."

I felt relieved at his answer, but nervous at the same time.

"But tell me... how was it like to meet the guardians again now that you are on the opposite team?" Pitch asked as he turned around to look at me, interest with what I would answer.

I felt a piercing guilt hit my chest when I remembered their expression when they found out I was the one that caused that large wild fire in Africa. It was almost like Pitch deliberately asked this to make me feel bad.

"Were they shocked? Confused? Angry?" Pitch kept asking as he walked up to me and then around me as I stood silently. "After what you've done, they probably think that you betrayed them."

"Shut up..." I whispered under my breath, feeling really annoyed.

"What did you just say?" Pitch demanded with an annoyed glare.

"Nothing," I lied, trying to keep my tone as normal as possible. Then I felt something grasped my shoulder tightly and I tensed up.

"If your thinking about opposing me, then you better forget about it quick," Pitch said in a cold hard voice. Then he touched my chin and lifted them up so I was looking at him eye to eye. He stared at me while I glared at him back.

"Don't touch me!" I brushed his hand off and walked back a few steps to give myself distance from him. I continued to glare at him distrustfully.

For some reason, Pitch snickered as he stared at me amusingly. "Now now my little candle stick. You know what happens to little kids that don't listen to adults, right?" He said as he walked back up to the globe again. "Naughty kids _will_ get punished."

I stayed silent, feeling uneasy about what he said. For the pas week, Pitch had been making me train with his Nightmares and sometimes, Pitch himself. I learned that the black horses were called Nightmares. They were made of sand that used to belong to Sandy, but was morphed by Pitch to bring nightmares instead of good dreams. The Nightmares weren't that tough to fight with when they were in small numbers. But once they were more of them, the training got a whole lot more complicated.

Fighting with Pitch was also a pain. The guy was quick, swift and very sneaky. Every time he decides to personally train me, I would end up with my butt kicked and bruises everywhere. Pitch also didn't like me talking back at him, so after the fifth time of being 'trained' by him, I knew he wasn't joking about the punishment.

"But as promise, I'll let you have a little quality time with your sister. You have five minutes," he said.

Then a swarm of black sand gathered in front of me in a large sphere before it formed a large cage with a little girl inside of it.

"Abby!" I called out to her. I quickly got onto my knees in front of the cage, grasping the cold bars.

"Pumpkin!" Abby cried out as she ran towards me, looking a little shaky but happy to see me.

I would've given her a huge hug if it wasn't for the bars that came between us, so all I could do was hold her cold pale cheeks to give her some of my warmth as my way of assuring her.

"It's alright, Abby. Don't be scared. Big brother will make sure nothing hurts you," I tried to assure her.

Then Abby took a good look at me and noticed my tattered clothes and bruises.

"Pumpkin hurt!" cried Abby, worriedly.

I tried to cover some of my bruises, but I couldn't cover them completely. "I'm alright, Abby. I just tripped myself, that's all. They'll heal," I lied so she wouldn't get too worried.

Abby stared with wide eyes in shock. She was probably surprised that a trip can cause so many bruises.

"Where pwetty wights?" She asked, noticing the absence of my wisps. Very good observation for a kid her age.

"There having a rest right now. They were having so much fun that they all got exhausted afterwards," I lied. There was a reason why they weren't flying round.

So I spent the few minutes I had talking with Abby. I tried to tell her stories to keep her reassured like of how I went to North's workshop, how the yetis made the toys, how I dropped in Bunny's place, chased by giant stone eggs, and how the eggs there can walk. I couldn't help but chuckled at the look on her face. It was almost as if I just gave her a huge present with North and the other guardians inside of it. I smiled in relief when Abby's mood seemed to have lighten up.

"Pumpkin?" she called.

"Yeah, Abby?"

"Abby wanna go home," Abby told me with hope in her eyes. It almost broke my heart to see her looking like that.

"I'm sorry, Abby, but we can't go home yet, so be patient alright," I had to tell her even though I didn't even know when Pitch will let her go. "Once I'm done with some errands, we can all go home, okay? So in the mean time, no matter what happens, don't be afraid. Be brave and nothing can scare you, alright."

"Uh huh. Awight..." she agreed. "Then we go home when you done?"

"Yep," I replied.

"Pwomise?" she asked to make sure.

"Promise," I assured her.

Then I heard Pitch's voice from behind me. "Ten seconds left, boy," he told me from a distance away.

I took a glance behind me and saw that he was still in front of the globe. He was busy observing the tiny lights, probably planning where to strike next. Making sure that Pitch won't notice, I quickly turned to Abby again. I grabbed her hands, carefully placed something inside, and clapped them together in a lotus bud form.

"Abby, remember what I told you. Don't be scared. Be a brave girl. For me, okay?" I told in a slight whisper.

Abby looked at her hands, confused. She must've noticed that I put something in her hands. Even though she was confused, but she answered, "Uh huh."

"Good girl," I complimented her.

"Time's up," Pitch announced and black sand rose from the ground and engulfed Abby's cage before disappearing with my sister.

I could feel her hands disappearing from my grasped. When she was gone, I stared at my hands as if I could still feel her tiny warm hands in mine.

"That was a touching little moment," said Pitch appearing from behind me and squeezing my shoulder as if telling me to stand up, which I did. "But it's time you get some rest. You have another task tomorrow."

"Can't I even get a day off?" I asked in an annoyed tone.

"Oh no," he said. "We have so much to do, so it's best to get things done quickly. Now off to your quarters."

So I did as told and went back to the room that Pitch gave me when I was taken to this place. The room he gave me was like one of those bedrooms that exist in European castles. Bed with curtains and everything. Even though it was spacey, I prefer the small room that North used to let me sleep in when I was at his place. It felt more like a prison here than a bedroom. This room was dark and cold while North's was warm and cozy. It's not like I really had many choices to begin with since this whole place was dark and cold.

"Oh and don't forget you have more training in the morning," reminded Pitch.

Oh great. That sounded _so_ exciting. I'll be adding more bruises to my already injured body.

* * *

**~Pitch's POV~**

While I watched the boy walked off to his quarters, I thought proudly to myself, 'I finally found a promising companion.' For so long, I've been searching for an ally of my own. Jack Frost also had promise, but that boy was foolish and rejected my offer. I still remember the bitterness of having my hope crushed to pieces... _again_.

I may be the boogeyman, but that didn't mean I like being alone in the darkness. I too wanted a companion to rule by my side when I bring fear to the world.

When I found the Fall Spirit, Jack O'Lantern, I felt that his powers were somewhat familiar. The power to control fire and the desire to bring fear. It didn't take me long for me to realize who he reminded me of. It's been so long since I thought of _him_. It's been so many years since I had a companion with similar interest. A kindred spirit. Then some _things_ happened and now he's gone.

When Jack O'Lantern appeared, I saw hope again. Still so young and new to our world. He loved scaring people, but his heart was too soft and weak. He had potential, but he needed the right person to help nurture that side of him. Since he was still young, I decided to make him my apprentice for now. Once he becomes stronger and understands my ideals, he'll be the perfect partner that'll stand beside me as I bring fear and nightmare to this world. Then I'll have my revenge against those wretched guardians.

But those guardians had to get to him first before I did and tried to make him one of them. I knew I had to work fast when I found out. I didn't want to lose him like how I lost the others. I even went as far as to kidnap a child. His little sister was a good bait. Now Jack O'Lantern listened to my every word and followed my every demand, but unfortunately, he still believed that he's friends with those blasted guardians! As long as he still believed that, there's no doubt he'll try to go against me one day. To make sure such a thing doesn't happen, I thought of a plan for precaution, but I needed something to make sure this plan will go smoothly.

I'll make sure he'll never oppose me like those others. He'll be completely mine.

I called upon my Nightmares and they came to me immediately.

"I need you to go retrieve something for me," I told them.

The Nightmares' glowing yellow eyes were fixed on me, waiting for my command. I told them what I needed and they quickly disappeared into the shadows.

* * *

**~Frost's POV~**

The guardians and I were all back at North's place. It seemed to have become our headquarters now. After Lantern's major wildfire destruction in South Africa, which took us an hour or two to put out all the flames, we came back here to rest up. Especially me, since I was the one that got my butt kicked by Lantern. I swear that fire spirit was some how stronger than before.

The next day, we were all gathered at the usual hall room in front of the fireplace to figure out what we should do next.

"If my speculation's correct, zhen zhere's chance Pitch is controlling Lantern against his vill," said North.

"So how is Pitch controlling Lantern anyways? He didn't look like he was being mind controlled," wondered Bunny.

"Maybe he's being threatened," suggested Tooth. Baby Tooth, who was flying beside her, nodded in agreement.

"With what?" demanded Bunny.

"Abby..." I realized. "Abby went missing way before Lantern did. Pitch must've kidnapped her and is using her to get to Lantern."

Everyone turned and looked at me in unison.

"You mean his sister?" Bunny asked to make sure.

"Yeah," I confirmed. "She's been missing for more than three weeks now and I have no doubt that this was Pitch's doing."

Then Sandy made a sand figure of a little girl over his head and he pointed to it with a serious look.

"Sandy's right. Ve must find Lantern's sister," announced North.

"But where do we find her? We don't even know where she is," said Tooth.

"Pitch has many hidden entrances to his lair, but we don't even know where to find any of them, much less know where she is," stated Bunny.

"What about the globe? Each of the lights belong to a child that believes in us, right? Abby must be a believer as well since she can see me, so can't we use the globe to find her?" thought Tooth.

"Wait, the globe can actually do that?" I stared at North. "I didn't know the globe can actually be use to find people."

"It's not zhat easy. If I know Pitch, zhen he vould probably have Abby hidden somewhere underground. Zhe globe might be able to find children, but if zhe child in deep underground, zhen the globe von't be able to find zhem," explained North. "Pitch's lair in underground so me globe von't vork. Ve must find other way."

Great! Now how were we supposed to find Abby then? Just imagining Lantern being under Pitch's mercy was making me feel anxious and impatient. We have to find Abby quick. The faster we find Abby, the sooner Lantern can finally be free from Pitch's clutches.

Baby Tooth seemed to notice that I was really worried, so she flew to me and placed her hand on my cheek. She chirped to me as if she was trying to assure.

"Thanks, Baby Tooth," I thanked her for her worry for me, but my own feelings won't die down that easily.

While we were so busy trying to figure out how to find Abby, Sandy caught our attention when he made some kind of sand orb over his head and pointed behind us. He was pointing to the globe.

"Hey, guys! I think Sandy wants to tell us something," I called to the other guardians.

We all turned towards the globe and noticed that something was happening to it.

The lights at the bottom of North America were flickering.

"It's Mexico!" exclaimed Tooth.

"Is it Lantern?" thought Bunny.

"I don't know, but ve must go zhere quick to find out," replied North.

And so we were off to our next destination, Mexico.

* * *

**~Lantern's POV~**

The buildings were ablaze and black smoke rose into the sky. The screams of fear and panic could be heard through the roaring flames. People were running all over the streets, either trying to put out the flames or trying to escape the burning buildings.

While most of the people were unable to see them, there were several fire creatures roaming the town, creating fire on anything that can catch on fire. I noticed that it seemed only the adults can't see them, but the children can.

A little girl was staring at a fire jaguar in horror. Her little body was shaking and her eyes were tearing up in fear. She stared in silent and didn't dare move. The fire jaguar noticed her and stared at her, wondering whether to attack or not.

I specifically made sure to transfer my thoughts to every fire creatures to not harm any of the humans, including the children. Pitch only gave orders to create fear and chaos, not hurt the people, so I wasn't going against his orders whatsoever.

Once the fire jaguar got my message, it didn't attack the girl.

Then a woman came running towards the girl, not noticing the flaming jaguar, she scolded the little girl with worry on her face before she carried the little girl in her arms and ran off, away from the burning buildings.

I was watching all this from the roof of a burning two floor house. The heat didn't bother me at all and the fire can't harm me either. I'm the spirit of fire after all, so technically, fire can't harm me.

Then I spotted in another area that several men were trying to put out the flames with a hose and buckets of water. While they were running around finding water, they didn't noticed the fire bats flying over their heads at all. The fire bats were lighting up tall roofs and trees, spreading fire through the air. There were a couple of kids around there, pointing at the flaming bats in fear, but none of the adults took notice.

There were also a bunch of fire monkeys jumping around the streets and hopping from roofs to roofs, throwing tiles or anything they can get their hands on onto the ground below.

The fire jaguars were dashing through the plazas, streets, and alleys, leaving behind a path of flames and burning stalls and tents in their tracks.

The normal animals like the dogs and cats can see them and sense that these flaming creatures weren't normal and chose to flee than going up against them.

Watching all this happening before my eyes made my chest ache. I never wanted this. I love pranks and stuff, but this was not what I had in mind. I hated this. I hated this so much, but I can't stop. Why did I have to be a Fire Spirit? Why fire of all things?! Why couldn't I have less harmful powers like... Candy? The worst I could do was cause cavities! Wait a minute... Tooth wouldn't like that at all.

While I was busy lost in thought, I didn't notice that something was flying towards me from behind.

"Lantern!"

I heard someone called my name and l turned around out of reflex.

_Zap! _

There was a flash of blue light and the fire that was surrounding me before were immediately frozen by ice. Then a familiar figure came floating down and landed on the opposite side of the roof. That staff and white hair... Frost.

* * *

**~Frost's POV~**

I stared at Lantern as I landed on the roof where he stood watching the burning town. The fire spirit seemed to look worse since the last time we encountered each other. His face was turning really pale and he seemed to look even more drained than before. His glow was almost gone and his eyes lost their liveliness and mischievous twinkle. He looked so... dead.

"Lantern, what happened to you?" I asked worriedly.

Lantern stayed silent, just like last time. Was he unable to speak for some reason? Was this because of Pitch?

Then Lantern threw his hand in front of him and a large amount of fire came shooting out of it, heading towards me. I immediately blasted them with my own ice bolts.

_Boom!_

Like aways, the collision of the two opposite powers exploded, creating a powerful wind that almost knocked us over again. Good thing Tooth sent Baby Tooth to the Tooth Palace, so she would be safe there. It wasn't safe putting her on the battlefield again. Though Baby Tooth wasn't so happy about being left out, it was for her own good.

After the explosion, a mist would spread everywhere, covering our surroundings like a white curtain.

Just what I needed.

While the mist kept Lantern from seeing what was happening around him, there was a sound of something flying in the air. Then...

_Clank!_

When the mist started to clear out, I could hear something being hit. The lantern pole was knocked out of the fire spirit's hands and fell off the roof. The object that hit the lantern pole went flying back in an arc and into someone's hand.

"Sorry, mate, but we can't have you making any more fire," said a large rabbit with an Australian accent. Bunny jumped onto the roof of the building we were standing from another one with his boomerang in his hands.

When the mist cleared up, Lantern found himself cornered by me and Bunny.

"Lantern! We seriously don't want to fight you, but we can't have you burn anymore towns," I told him. We had no choice. If we want to prevent anymore crazy fire, we had to go to the source... and that source was Lantern. Bunny and I volunteered to stop Lantern while North and the others went to fight the fire beasts.

Lantern stared at me and Bunny silently with this pained look in his eyes. He probably didn't want to fight us either, but he didn't look like he had a choice. Suddenly, swirls of fire appeared in Lantern's palms and he threw the fireballs at us.

He can use his powers _without_ his lantern pole?!

This was unexpected since I can't use my powers when I don't have my staff, so I thought he was the same. Time for a change of plans.

Both Bunny and I had to quickly dodge the two fireballs and they came flying at us. I shot an ice bolt at the fire spirit but he just jumped into the air and _flew_.

He can FLY as well?! Why couldn't I fly or use my powers when my staff broke? This was unfair!

Bunny threw his boomerangs at him, but Lantern just flew away, dodging the flying wooden weapons. I also flew into the air to chase after him.

He dived down towards the ground where his lantern pole fell. When he spotted the metal lantern, he immediately grabbed and shot back into the air.

He flew through the burning town where the buildings were still roaring with flames. I tried to follow as close behind as possible. Lantern tried shooting more fireballs at me while I tried to dodge them. When I tried to shoot him with my ice bolts, Lantern managed to dodge them and made a sudden turn into a corner. I barely made the turn, so I was still on his tail.

Lantern was darting into every turn and corner, trying to out fly me. While I was following him from behind, fire bats would be chasing me and fire monkeys would be throwing roof tiles at me. I sent a strong gust of cold ice wind in every direction to blow away those fire beasts.

While Lantern was distracted from protecting himself from the cold wind, he didn't notice someone flying towards him.

Tooth came flying out of nowhere and crashed into Lantern. The impact sent them falling down onto the hard pavement down below. Both Lantern and Tooth rolled in different directions and laid on the ground, face down. Tooth was the first to recover. She flapped her wings and hovered into the air while shaking her head to get rid of the dizziness and headache.

Lantern also started to get up onto his feet with the help of his lantern pole to push himself up. He was barely standing when suddenly, a swirl of golden sand flowed around him and formed into a orb-shaped cage. Sandy was hovering right behind him while controlling the sand.

Finally, we caught him.

"Lantern," I called as I landed on the ground. "Sorry that we had to do this to you, but it was the only way we can ask questions without having you shooting us with your flame throwers."

"We're really sorry, Lantern," apologize Tooth with a guilty look on her face.

"Finally caught the little blow torch," Bunny said when he finally caught up to us. "Now's the time to get some questions answered."

Then North appeared and joined us. All the guardians were now present and gathered around the caged Lantern, who was trying to break himself free with his fire powers but to no avail.

"Lantern," called North. "Ve know you are in trouble. It is Pitch, is it not?"

Lantern froze and stared at North. His reaction pretty much answered our first question.

"Does Pitch have Abby? Is that why you're doing all this?" I asked this time.

Lantern didn't say anything, but I could see it in his eyes that I was right. His eyes were burning with anger and frustration.

"Then do you know what Pitch is planning?" North asked, hoping to find some idea what Pitch was up to. But before we could get our answer, we suddenly heard noises of what sounded like a horse.

_Hiiiiiiiiiiiiii!_

We all immediately turned around in the direction of where the noise was coming from. What stood in the shadows not far from us was more than a dozen Nightmares. Their bright yellow eyes stood out from the darkness and their black skeletal bodies slowly walked out from the shadows.

"Nightmares!" gasped Tooth.

Then the black horses came rushing towards us. We immediately grasped our weapons, ready to attack. North and Tooth charged at the horses with their blades slashing at them. Bunny threw some egg-bombs, blowing up a couple of the Nightmares, and Sandy was whipping his sand whip at them. Even though we got some of them, there were still a few that slipped pass us. That's when I notice that their target wasn't us, it was the cage.

"They're going for Lantern!" I cried out in realization. I tried to stop them by blasting them with ice bolts, but one of the black horses already had its front hooves raised.

Lantern backed himself inside the cage and stared with wide eye in shock as the hooves came crashing onto the cage. The force of the impact broke the cage to pieces. Once the cage was broken, the Nightmares swirled around the fire spirit like a tornado, wrapping him in black sand.

"They're going to take him away," yelled Bunny, throwing his boomerang at the Nightmares, but it barely made any damage to the wall of black sand.

Sandy tried to use his whip to grab Lantern, but when the golden whip darted towards the black tornado, a Nightmare appeared and blocked it.

Then the black tornado completely enveloped Lantern inside of it before it dispersed into nothing but sand. Lantern was nowhere to be seen.

* * *

**~Abby's Side~**

Locked up in a large bird cage hanging from the ceiling, Abby was sitting in the center with her body close together. She looked around at her surroundings outside the cage to have idea of the place. There were some tiny source of light shinning from ceiling barely enough to make out the place. She was locked up in some dark and cold underground ruins and there were more cages hanging around her. The place smelled damp and salty as if she was at the sea. She's been observing the place like this from the beginning due to her own curious nature. She may not know where the way out of this place may be, but she can see the many pathways and stairs leading in every direction. She can also hear the sound of waters down below. Though she was very high up, she can still see black murky waters flowing down below. With the waters flowing all over the underground city, it looked like the city was being flooded by black water.

Abby was sitting in a close position to keep herself warm and safe. She had her hands clapped together as if holding onto something inside. There were small amount orange light leaking out from the cracks between her fingers. Her brother gave her something before they were separated and she had been holding it in her hands like that since then. It was really warm inside her palms and it also made her heart feeling safe and calm. When she felt that no one was around, she opened her hands and a soft and warm orange glow shined onto her face.

Her eyes reflected the lights, making her eyes shine with awe.

* * *

Thank you for reading. Please comment or leave feedback or suggestions.

Uh oh, what does Pitch have in mind for poor Jack O'Lantern? *makes dramatic theme noise*


	18. Chapter 16 Black Silent Guider

**Disclaimer: I do not own the ROTG universe or its original characters. This story is written within the ROTG universe. The rest of the characters belong to me.**

* * *

**Chapter 16: Black Silent Guider**

**~Abby's Side~**

Abby stared in awe at the warm light in her hands. The light was glowing softly in her palms like a small candle light. Its glow pulsing like a heart beating with life.

"Pwetty wight!" she cried out happily, her eyes shining from the reflection of the light in her hands.

Inside her palms was tiny speck of fire. But what was strange about this little flame was that it was floating in her tiny hands, not burning nor harming her whatsoever. Not to mention, it was smiling at her.

_Bi! Bi! Bi!_

The small flame cried out happily upon recognizing the little girl. The flame was actually a wisp, but for some reason, it was smaller than the ones Abby usually saw with her brother. Suddenly, the flame started to grow slowly to a normal size wisp.

"Ooooooo!" Abby was awed as the wisps grew before her eyes.

Then the wisp flew around her and chattered in delight. Abby giggled as she spun around with the wisp in amusement. While they were laughing, there were sounds echoing around them.

_Hiiiiiiiiii!_

"Horsey?" Abby thought. She could hear the sound of horses crying echoing from a distance and right away, she recognized the sound to belong to those flying black horses.

Upon hearing the Nightmares' cry, the wisp immediately hid behind Abby, shaking nervously. It blabbered in gibberish nonsense that Abby couldn't understand, but she could hear the fear in its tone.

_Klopp! Klopp! Klopp! Klopp!_

Then the sound of the Nightmares galloping bounced off the stone walls. Even though the whole place was almost dark from the small amount of light, she could still spot black figures flashing in the shadows. The Nightmares were all heading in the same direction somewhere...

But where?

Abby looked around her cage to find a way to get out. There was the cage's door, but it was lock. Even if it wasn't locked, they were still several feet in the air. So the problems that she had were how to unlock the door and how to get down.

She was barely three years old, so solving this kind of problem was still beyond her. Since her little brain was still not mature enough to do the thinking, she looked at her wisp for help.

"Do you know how two gwet out?" she asked the wisp.

The wisp looked at her and then at the cage. Then it looked at the girl again and then at the cage again. The wisp did that a few more times when it finally answered.

_Uuuuuuuh... Nuh uh _

It shook its head since it too didn't know either. Wisps were good with coming up with ways to mess with people, but figuring out an escape plan was not part of their topic of critical thinking list. Their list only consists of how to scare people, how to prank people, how to mess with people, and how to have fun while doing all the above. Very simple, really.

"Can't you open door?" Abby pointed at the cage's door.

The wisp flew through the bars and looked at the lock. It was an old fashion kind of cage lock. It needed a key, but where was this key anyways?

Then it remembered how their master, Lantern, used to pick locks at the happy fat man's, North, place. Their master would pick locks of chests and drawers in the work shop a lot and surprised the yetis with firecrackers that he discovered from the "**Danger! Room full of explosive stuff. Enter with caution or you will find yourself blown to smithereens**" room. Of course, their master couldn't resist and broke into the room and took some of the firecrackers. He had a blast from watching the yetis' freaked out reaction. The yetis on the other hand, were also having a blast, but not the I-am-enjoying-this kind of blast. It was the blowing-in-the-face-and-burning-my-fur blast.

Anyways, back to their situation, the wisp tried to look around to find something it can use to pick this lock like how its master did it. Then the wisp spotted some hairclips in Abby's hair. They were in luck.

_Bi! Bi! Bi!_

The wisps flew to Abby, trying to ask for the hairclips.

"What?" Abby looked confused. She didn't understand what it wanted.

The wisps cried out again while bouncing in the air.

"You wanna pway hop-scwotch?" thought Abby.

_Nuh uh!_

The wisps shook its head (or was it body?) that that wasn't what it meant.

"You hungwy?" Abby guessed again.

_Nuh uh!_

"Potty?"

_Nuh uh! Nuh uh!_

The wisps became frustrated and flew close to her hair where the hairclips were and nodded towards it.

Abby touched her hair and felt the hairclips that her mom put on for her many days ago. "Cwippy?"

_Uh huh!_

So Abby took out a hairclip and gave it to the wisp, who took it with its mouth. Then it flew to the keyhole and began picking. Pick pick pick it went.

Five minutes later... Still picking.

Ten minutes... Um...Still picking...

Fifteen minutes... No progress whatsoever.

Twenty minutes...

Abby had already fallen asleep and the wisp looked dead tired from trying to pick that god damn luck. It was almost in tears from picking for so long. They haven't gone far with that piece of metal... No, let's rephrase... They haven't gone anywhere with that thing! Who knows how much longer it will...!

_Click!_

Oh... uh... nevermind.

Abby woke up immediately upon hearing that sudden click sound. She was still half awake and half asleep when she sat up.

"Mommy... Daddy take cookwie... fwom jaw agwain," murmured Abby, rubbing her eyes with her arm. Now we discovered that her dad was a cookie thief.

The wisp was on the verge of collapsing when it jolted in surprise. Even though the door was now slightly open, it still couldn't believe that it finally broke the lock. When it finally sank in that it finally broke that accursed lock after more than twenty minutes, it bounced in the air excitedly and cheered victoriously like a football fan whose team won at a super bowl.

Then Abby started to recall the situation she was in and stared at the ecstatic wisp. "Yay! Door open!" she cheered as well.

Now that the door was unlocked and opened, they will now face another problem.

How to get down.

Abby and the wisp looked down and saw the ground was far too deep. If Abby were to fall, it could be fatal.

"Gwound so faw away," thought Abby, looking down nervously. "How do I gwet down?"

The wisp looked around again, hoping to find something to help them out. That's when it noticed a chain dangling from the ceiling close by. Then the wisp started to get an idea. The nearest solid ground was the brick bridge-stair thingy. There was no way Abby can jump that far, but with the help of the dangling chain, she can use it to swing across. So the wisp flew to the chain and began pushing it towards Abby.

Abby watched as the wisp slowly brought the chain towards her. She didn't really understood what the wisp was planning, but at least she grabbed the chain when it was in reach.

"Wha' dis for?" asked Abby, confused.

The wisp blabbered while trying to explain what it wanted her to do. It would point to the chain, then Abby, and then at the bridge-stair thingy.

Abby stared at the wisp, then at chain in her hand, and then at the bridge-stair thingy.

"You want me to thwow? Okay!" Then Abby threw the chain.

_Eh?!_

The wisp wasn't expecting this, so when Abby threw the chain, the wisp wasn't able to dodge in time and the chain smacked it head on.

_Eep! _

_Smack!_

"Oopsie. Sawy," apologized Abby.

The poor wisp was now in a daze and seeing sparks around its head and floating awkwardly. It took five seconds for the wisp to shake its dizziness away and recollect what it was doing originally.

Then the wisp was blabbering like crazy in anger like it was scolding Abby. Actually, it _was_ scolding her. Apparently, it didn't appreciate being smacked by the chain. Finally, after burning some steam, the wisp went to get the chain again. This time, the wisp made sure to demonstrate what it wanted to say to get its point across.

It made a pose that look like it was hanging onto something. Then it made a jumping action and flew across as if it was swinging from an invisible vine while crying out like a jungle man.

"Oooooh!" Abby cried out in realization. "You wanna pway pwetend!"

The wisp suddenly fell from the air in bewilderment before it slowly floated back up with an irritated look across its face.

"No?" Abby looked confused.

The wisp shook its head like crazy and tried to demonstrate again.

_Chi!_ It pointed at the chain in her hand.

_Gu! _Makes a grabbing gesture.

_Weeeeee!_ Then it flew to the bridge as if it swung over.

"You wanna swing acwoss?" asked Abby, trying to make sense of this.

The wisp shook its head and pointed at her while crying _Bi! Bi! _

"Me?" She pointed at herself.

_Uh huh!_ Nodded the wisp.

Abby looked at the chain, at the bridge, and at the ground below her.

"Uh... I don' know... it look scwawry," said Abby, nervously. Seeing how far up she was, she began to feel doubtful of this idea.

The wisp tried to urge her on, but the girl still looked scared. The distance between the cage and the bridge was kind of far to jump, but swinging across would definitely make it. Not to mention, Abby was small so her weight won't be an issue and she played with ropes at the playground all the time, so her grip was pretty good. The problem was that Abby needed the courage to swing across.

She was too high up. What if she fell? The idea scared poor Abby.

"I wish big bwother was here," though Abby, missing her brother. Then she remembered what her brother told her.

_Abby, remember what I told you. Don't be scared. Be a brave girl. For me, okay?_

"Abby muss be bwave fow bwother!" Abby told herself. Then her fear started to fade away and she was becoming a little braver. She gripped the chain tightly and got into a running position. Then she began to count.

"1... 2..."

The wisp cheered for her.

"3... 4..." She continued counting. Guess it wasn't on the count of three.

The wisp still tried to cheer on, but a little less enthusiastic than the first few counts.

"5... 6..." Still counting.

The wisp stopped cheering and started to look annoyed.

"7... 8..." Yep, still counting.

The wisp went and hovered behind Abby without her noticing.

"9... 10"

Then the wisp rammed into Abby's back, pushing her right out of the cage.

"Eeeeeeeeeekkkkkkkkkk!" Abby screamed loudly in shock while gripping onto the rope tightly for dear life. She flew across the distance of the cage from the bridge before and managed to let go at the right moment when she was closest to the bridge.

_Thump!_

She landed on her tiny bottom and even skipped a few times before making a complete stop.

"Owie!" cried Abby, rubbing her sore bottom. "Dat wasn't nice!" she protested at the wisp, but the wisp ignored her and whistled to itself as if it didn't do anything wrong.

Now that she was free from the cage, she wanted to find her brother. The problem now? She didn't know where to go. She looked back and forth at the bridge, wondering which way to go. Left? Right? Or maybe left? No, maybe right... Or was it the left? Her thoughts kept going into a cycle. She was in quite a dilemma.

The wisp also looked left and right.

"That way?" Abby thought, pointing left.

_Ri?_ The wisp pointed right.

Both Abby and the wisp stared at each other.

"Then that way?" Abby now pointed right.

_Le?_ The wisp pointed left.

And then there was silence. Looks like they won't be getting out anytime soon...

* * *

**~Lantern's POV~**

I fell smack onto the hard cold stone floor when the Nightmares released me from their black sandy grasp. Seriously! They could've at least let me out properly! I think I got another bruise to my unwanted collection.

Just when I was massaging my chin, I noticed someone standing before me. I didn't need to look up to know who it was. Who else wears an emo black dress?.

"Looks like I got you out of there just in time," said Pitch.

"I didn't need your help or your ponies'. I was handling the situation just fine!" I retorted as I got up from the ground.

The Nightmares snorted and stomped heavily on the ground while glaring at me angrily. I guess they didn't like being called ponies, but who cares.

"Oh? Were you?" Pitch asked sarcastically. "According to my Nightmares, you were quite outnumbered. The guardians had you surrounded and even caught you. If my Nightmares hadn't rescued you in time, who knows what they would've done to you."

"What are you talking about? Frost and the others wouldn't do anything to me," I argued, annoyed.

"Oh, but didn't they _attack_ you and put you in a _cage_?" reminded Pitch as he turned his back towards me and walked away.

Suddenly, I felt my chest squeezing painfully. I knew that what the guardians did was understandable. I attacked a town. Burned it. I even attacked them first. Of course they would fight back, but that didn't make me feel any less depressed. Fighting with friends really felt horrible.

"Come here, Jack," called Pitch, turning around slightly to look at me as if saying to follow him.

I still didn't trust this guy, but for now, I had to do what he wanted, so I walked up and followed behind him.

Pitch didn't look please for some reason. His face looked unsatisfied. Did I do something wrong? I started to feel nervous. Did he found out about the wisp I gave Abby to help her escape already?!

"When I said 'come here,' I meant for you to stand beside me," he explained while pushing me forward to stand beside him like he wanted.

What the fudge? That came out of nowhere.

"You may be my apprentice now, but don't forget that one day, you'll be my right hand man. I need you standing by my side when we destroy those guardians and engulf the whole world with fear and nightmares," Pitch said with gleams in his eyes.

We walked down the stone pathways until we came upon the giant globe. There were still some lights shining on the globe, but I could tell that there were less lights since the last time I laid my eyes on it. Especially the area that supposed to be Mexico and Africa. Seeing how the lights were less than before because of me, I felt dread and guilt swelling inside of my chest.

"I have to say you did a great job for the last few errands I sent you," complimented Pitch. "My powers are almost strong enough for me to break from this underground prison. Just a little more and my powers will be back to its right state."

As if to make Pitch's mood seem more dark and evil, a vast amount of black sand swirled around him like a small tornado, creating a wind in the process. His mood must be linked to his powers, or maybe the other way around, but whatever it was, it's getting worse and worse as Pitch got more and more excited with his powers returning to him.

I could feel the strength of the wind getting stronger and stronger that I had to step away from the dark man. I felt Pitch's power rising and the wind becoming more chilling. This wasn't even his full power, but I can already feel his power overwhelm me. It was like I was washed with cold dread and fear.

Pitch didn't seem to notice my distress since he was so consumed with awe with his increasing powers.

"Soon, I'll have my revenge," Pitch sneered evilly. "This time I'll crushed those guardians completely. Even the Moon won't be able to do anything but watch as I bring back the Dark ages." Then he laughed out hysterically. His laughter echoed everywhere as if he turned on the speakers or something. For some odd reason, it felt like this wasn't the first time I experienced this.

Suddenly, something seemed to flash in my mind. At the same time, my head began to hurt like crazy. It was like something was pounding in my head to get out. Then these images started to flicker through my head like a crappy video.

It was mine where my friends and I went to play a ouija board. We were standing right in front of the entrance.

"Ugh!" I cried and grabbed my head in pain as my memory changed.

_Flash_

Then we were inside the mine, but staring at the ouija board as the indicator moved around the surface on its own.

My headache was getting worse that I didn't even notice my knees giving away before the flashes of memory continued.

_Flash_

There was a strong gust of wind and a bone chilling laughter echoing everywhere around us.

_Flash_

The dynamites exploded, causing the mine to collapse. Before the darkness engulfed me, a name appeared in my mind. It was a name that didn't belong to any of my friends, but of someone who was also there with us. It was a name that appeared on the ouji board when no one was touching it. It was a name that my mind tried to forget due to the shock of my death. The name of a man that caused my death.

Pitch Black...

"Jack?" I could hear Pitch calling me. "Is something the matter?"

By this time, my head stopped having these flash backs and the ache was lighting up. I remembered now. I remembered what happened that night. The night when I died.

"You..." The word left my mouth like a forced whisper.

"What?" Pitch stared at me, confused.

"You were there... you were... at the mine..." I said as something inside of me began to burn up. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't have died. If he didn't scare Mikey, then Mikey wouldn't have accidently cause the dynamites to blow up and the mine wouldn't have collapse.

"What are you talking about?" demanded Pitch.

"You were there at the mine where I _died_!" I screamed and pointed at him accusingly.

"IT WAS BECAUSE OF YOU THAT I DIED!"

* * *

**~Abby's Side~**

Several minutes had already passed. Abby and the wisp were now wandering the underground lair, not really knowing where they were going. One can say that they were completely lost.

They were walking through what looked like a tall hallway with these columns standing on the sides in neat rows. One side of the hall had these arches that were used like a window, opening to the rest of the lair.

"I'm gettin' tiyard," whined Abby, getting exhausted from all that walking. "Can we west?" She asked.

The wisp looked at her and can tell that she was really tired. She was still a kid after all and really young one at that, so the wisp nodded and blabbered in agreement.

Then Abby sat down beside one of the columns to lean on. She stretched out her legs to let her poor aching feet rest from all that walking.

"So... tyared," complained Abby.

The wisp just stared at the drained little girl, wondering how long they should rest until they have to continue moving.

Suddenly, they could hear the sound of hooves hitting the stone floor, echoing through out the hall way. The wisp froze in shock for a few seconds before hiding behind Abby's back.

Abby was also surprised since she didn't expect the black horses to appear already. She didn't want to get caught after escaping from the cage, so she quickly got up and hid behind one of the columns.

_Klipp Klopp Klipp Klopp_

It was definitely the sound of hooves like that of a horse. Was it a Nightmare? Since it sounded like hooves, then maybe?

_Klipp Klopp Klipp Klopp_

The sound got louder and louder as it got closer and closer to where Abby and the wisp were hiding.

_Klipp Klopp Klipp Klopp_

All of the sudden, the sound stopped. Was it gone?

Not knowing if the creature left yet or not, she peaked out from behind the columns with the wisp at her shoulder. What they saw on the other side made them stare in shock.

Right in front of her was a large and powerful looking black stallion. But unlike the Nightmares with their skeleton like appearance and streams of black sand flowing out of their bodies, this horse looked... normal. It had a strong and muscular appearance. Its eyes were abnormally pure white and had no iris at all. Its body fur coat was black and shiny like an onyx. There was also a saddle strapped on its back and the reins around its face.

Did that mean this horse has an owner? And what was a horse doing here in the first place? These questions should be something Abby should be thinking, but instead, they slipped through her mind like how any two or three year olds would do when they were too busy being amazed by the creature's powerful beauty.

The black stallion stood before her, staring at her with its blank white eyes silently. Abby was mesmerized by its majestic appearance and silent air around it.

"Oooooo, pwetty horsy," Abby said in awe.

Even the wisp was amazed as well. It can only stare at the large black beast in awed silence.

For the black stallion, it just stared at her silently before it began to walk away in the direction it came from.

Both Abby and the wisp stared at it as it walked away.

Then the stallion stopped and looked at them as if it was trying to tell them to follow it. Abby didn't know why, but that was what she was feeling, so she walked out from behind the column and walked up to it.

The wisp, of course, was surprised by this. It followed right behind Abby, chattering for her to stop.

Abby didn't seem to listen to the wisp since she just walked up to the horse without thinking.

The stallion didn't make any noise when Abby reached it. Then it soon continued to walk silently with Abby and the wisp following behind it.

* * *

Thank you for reading. Please comment or leave feedback or suggestions.

So this is kinda sudden, but I'll be going to Japan this Wednesday, June 13 and I won't be back until July 8. I will be gone for almost a month, so there won't be any post until then. Sorry for this sudden news ^^;

Since July 8 is a Monday, then depending on what time I get back, my post might be a little late in the day. So find something to do for a month. I know you guys have a life, so it shouldn't be a problem. Reread the story if you want. Do leave some comments. It would be nice to come back and have people eagerly waiting for the next post.

My creativity is on the low side right now, but I'm still trying my hardest for you readers. Thank you for your support until now and I'll have a new chapter in a month.


	19. Chapter 17 Crushing the Fire

**Disclaimer: I do not own the ROTG universe or its original characters. This story is written within the ROTG universe. The rest of the characters belong to me.**

**Wahahaha! I'm back my fellow readers! And here's the new chapter I promised. **

**You guys have no idea how lucky you guys are! After I had this copied on my fanfic account, less than a hour late, my laptop died on me and won't turn on again. My charger has been flashing from dim green to bright green/orange, so not sure what's up. It's a macbook pro by the way. I'm using sister's laptop right now to post this, so good thing I had it saved here. I'm going to have my laptop checked to find the problem since it was only 2 years ago that I bought it. I just hope my other chapters are safe or all that work will be gone :**

* * *

**Chapter 17: Crushing the Fire**

**~Frost's POV~**

_Bang!_

"Damn it!" I swore in frustration and punched the wooden table in anger. The other guardians watched me with trouble look and worry on their faces.

We were all back at North's place after what happened in Mexico and gathered in the hall room, trying to figure out another plan to get Lantern back and also rescue Abby.

"I can't believe I let those damn nightmares slip through me and took Lantern away!" I shouted to myself in frustration.

"Just calm down, mate. It wasn't your fault," Bunny tried to assure me.

"He's right, Jack. We were all there, but we couldn't prevent what happened," agreed Tooth. "You shouldn't blame yourself."

Even though they were trying so hard to calm me down, I still couldn't stop thinking what could be happening to Lantern right now. "How can I calm down?! Who knows what Pitch is doing to him right about now! He could be torturing him! Abusing him! Or even turning him against us! We have to do something now!" I hit the floor with my staff in frustration and accidentally blasting the room with a ice cold wind.

"Jack! Calm down!" ordered North in a serious tone. "Panicking von't get us anyvhere. Ve have to stay calm and plan out carefully for next time. For now, ve know zhat he is using Lantern to create fear and help make him get stronger. His nightmares vas good proof zhat since ve could barely fight zhem off now."

"Then what do you suggest we do?" I demanded.

"Like I said, ve need to be prepared," said North. "I'll get zhe yetis and elves ready vhen somezhing happens."

"Good idea. I'll get the Sentinels ready on call as well," agreed Bunny.

Even though what North said was true, I can't get rid of this horrible feeling inside of me. It was like every minute gone was another minute Lantern have to be under Pitch's control.

Suddenly, I felt something on my shoulder and I turned around to see Sandy's hand. Sandy was trying to give me an assuring smile, but even I can see the worry in his eyes.

"I know, Sandy," I sighed. "But I just can't stop worrying."

Sandy nodded that he understood what I was feeling. He made several sand figures over his head really quickly as if he was explaining in a fast pace. Knowing Sandy, he was probably trying to calm me down.

"Alright, I get it. Thanks, Sandy," I smiled at him in appreciation.

Sandy smiled back as his reply.

Just when the atmosphere was getting calmer and under control, something came flying towards Tooth. It was the mini fairies. The small group of mini tooth fairies seemed to be reporting something to Tooth in chirps and squeaks in an alarmed tone. From the look on Tooth's face that was getting paler, it wasn't good news.

"What?! Oh no! Is this true?" Tooth cried out in shock.

The mini fairies squeaked and nodded.

"The fairies said that some Nightmares invaded the Tooth Palace!" announced Tooth, quickly.

"The Tooth Palace? Again?" cried Bunny, in disbelief. "What does that bloke have against teeth?"

Sandy also made a sand figures of teeth and a question mark over his head.

"Ve must get to zhe Tooth Palace immediately if ve vant to find out," said North with a grim tone.

We arrived at the Tooth Palace not long after we found out there was trouble. We all came on the sleigh, except for Tooth, who came flying before us. She was the owner of the place, so of course she would be more worried than us.

We all immediately jumped out before the sleigh even made a proper stop when we spotted Tooth talking to her fairies. I also spotted Baby Tooth among the mini fairies reporting to her. When she spotted me, she immediately zoomed towards me with high pitch chirps and squeaks. I can see the panic in her eyes that what happened here freaked her out. I guess the memory of the time when the Tooth Palace was attacked by the army of Nightmares was still fresh in her mind.

Baby came flying into my chest, shaking. I placed my hand on her, hoping that it would calm her down.

"It's alright, Baby Tooth. We're here now," I told her, hoping that would help her feel better. "So where're the Nightmares?" I turned to Tooth.

"They're already gone," she reported.

"Gone? Did zhey take anyzhing?" wondered North.

All the fairies in the palace were chirping loudly around us in distress. It was so loud that I swore that the racket was echoing throughout the palace. It was like they were all trying to talk all at once.

Tooth's face didn't look any better than her helpers. "It's Lantern's teeth. They took Lantern's teeth," she said with an ominous tone.

This definitely didn't sound good.

* * *

**~Pitch's POV~**

"IT WAS BECAUSE OF YOU THAT I DIED!"

Jack pointed at me with a burning rage in his eyes. His whole body was almost on fire. The flames were burning fiercely like the boy's emotion.

I was taken aback, confused. Died? What was he talking about?

"You _died_... because of _me_? What are you talking about?" I demanded.

"More than ten years ago, me and my friends were at the mine and you messed around with the ouji board! If you didn't freak out my friends, then the mine wouldn't have collapse from the explosion!" He screamed at me, angrily.

Ouji board? Mine? Explosion? Something inside my memory started remember an event like this. Yes, it was several years ago. A group of curious boys came to an abandoned mine to play around with some wooden board, hoping to have a conversation with the dead. I thought it would be interesting to communicate with them since I haven't talked with anyone for so long and not to mention, no one can see me besides those that weren't human.

So I scared them for the fun of it, but what I didn't expect was the explosion. One of the boys became so frightened that he ran into a cart of dynamite and clumsily dropped a match stick when he lit it. The explosion caused the mine to cave in and a life was lost. Remembering that event sent guilt into my conscience. I never meant for anyone to die. That was never my intention when I scared those boys. I only scared them out of amusement.

"So you were _that_ boy," I realized. My memory started to recall one of the boys' face. He was the only one that stood up and spoke to me that night. He was the bravest amongst the group, so he made quite an impression on me.

"So you remembered, you monster!" He shouted in anger. Then he sent a wave of fire at me. I immediately conjured up a wall of black sand, blocking the fire from hitting me.

"I assure you that it wasn't my attention to hurt anyone that night," I tried to explain. "Much less, _kill_."

This was getting out of hand. The look in his eyes was filled with anger and hatred. This was not part of the plan. The boy already didn't like me already. Now, he apparently hated my guts. Why was convincing him to come to my side so complicated? Where were those Nightmares that I sent to get what I needed?

"Yeah, right! You tried to get rid of Sandy! Don't think that I don't know what you did to him when you tried to get rid of the Guardians last time! I heard everything already, you murderer!" Jack continued to glare at me with hatred. Flames began to lit up around the boy's body. I know for a fact that the fire can't hurt the boy since this wasn't the first time I've seen him like this. The boy's anger was burning dangerously.

Jack conjured up a large amount of fire around him. Then he massed the flames together before shooting it in my direction.

I dodged out of the way in time, so the cannon ball-sized fire ended up blowing the globe behind me. Dust scattered all over the place. When the dust dispersed, the giant globe was still standing. Good thing that the globe was made with very tough metal and powerful magic or it would've been blown up into scrap.

"Calm down right now!" I ordered him but it didn't look like he wasn't going to do just that.

"Like hell I would!" He shouted and shot another wave of fire at me.

I conjured up a large scythe with my black sand and swiped the flames with the blade. Then I summoned more black sand around me like a mist and sent them towards the furious fire spirit. The black sand tried to wrapped themselves around him, but the boy kept shooting waves of fire at them to keep them away.

"Nightmares! Come!" I called upon my dark minions.

Immediately, the black beasts appeared from the shadows and dashed towards the young fire spirit. They swarmed around him like a black wall to trap him like a rat. Jack continued to fight them off with his fire like some kind of out of control fire storm. He blasted many of my nightmares to smithereens, but no matter how many nightmares were destroyed, I still called out more. Jack easily got outnumbered and since he just battled with the guardians, it wasn't long for him to get exhausted. His flames were getting weaker, but he still put up a tough fight.

"Rargh!" Jack cried out as he sent his last fireball before my nightmares finally got to him and wrapped him with a thick blanket of black sand. The lantern pole was dropped from his hand when the sand squeezed it out of his grip. He was now caught, immobile, and defenseless.

Jack kept trying to squirm himself out, but the sand only got tighter and tighter the more he struggled. I floated up to face him with the use of my black sand around my feet.

"Let me go, you freakin' bastard! Murderer!" He shouted at me with eyes wanting to burn me to crisp.

"You better listen to me and calm your flames down or I won't guarantee your sister's well being," I warned him.

"Not only are you a murderer, but a kidnapper too! Son of a b...!" The boy started to swear like mad. He was calling me in so many very rude names that even my eye twitched at some of them. Do I have to reeducate him about foul languages again?

I stared him, wondering what to do now. The boy won't listen to me anymore with hatred this strong. I worked so hard to make the boy mine, I won't have my plans ruin at this stage. Oh the frustration!

_Hiiiiiiii!_

Then I heard a Nightmare calling behind me, so I turned around to see what it wanted. "What is it?!" I snapped in irritation. That's when I saw what it had in its jaws. I felt my chest lighting up and a smile growing on my face. Finally, I have what I needed. "Finally! Talk about good timing," I cried in relief. "Now give it to me." I handed out my hand for it.

The nightmare stepped forward and placed a golden container in my hand. The container was almost a cylinder shape except for this one side that was flat. Tthere were diamond shape designs on the flat surface of the container. At the end of the cylinder, there was also a picture of a boy with wavy red-orange hair and hazel brown eyes, smiling playfully. The image was none other than the fire spirit himself, but the only difference was that this image belonged to him when he was still alive.

"Do you know what this is, Jack?" I turned around and showed the container to the fire spirit.

Jack stopped cursing and glared at me before staring at the container.

"It's a tube, so what?" he growled.

"Oh, but not just any tube. Do you know what the Tooth Fairy does?" I asked.

"Yeah, she collects teeth. Even a kindergarten knows that!" He retorted.

"And do you know why?" I asked again.

"Something about the teeth holding memories of the kids or something, so Tooth keeps the memories in a safe place until they are needed," Jack said while trying to remember what he could remember. "So what does this have anything to do with that tube?" He demanded.

"Well, Jack, this here is a container that holds the teeth," I explained. "And do you know whose teeth these belong to?"

Jack stared at the container and noticed the image at the end. His face started to show shock and even... fear.

"What do you want with my teeth?" He demanded nervously.

"Like what you said, the teeth holds the memories," I reminded him. "So what would happen if I mess around with it?"

Jack's face turned pale. "You aren't serious," Jack said in almost in a whisper.

"Oh, Jack, since when was I _not_?" I sneered at him in victory.

"No way! Don't you dare mess with my memories!" He cried out in anger and fear. He started to struggle again, but he was too weak to break free.

I began to wrapped the container with black sand, slowly seeping my powers into his memories. There were flashes of light sparking from the container as it tried to resist my powers.

"Aaargh!" The boy screamed in pain as he felt my powers trying to break into his mind. He began to struggle even more. "Stop! STOP IT!"

I ignored his pleas and cries as I continued to try to break into his memories.

The boy kept screaming and struggling. He kept pushing back my powers to prevent them from touching his mind. His will was very strong. It wasn't going to be easy to break him.

I pushed harder and harder. The barrier around his mind was almost breaking. Just a little bit more.

_Dood doo doo do doooo!_

What the blazes was that?!

Out of nowhere, a swarm of fire balls came charging and attacked me like angry bees. Their flaming bodies were biting at me like bee stings. I can't believe I forgot about the boy's wisps! They must've been hiding in that damn lantern! I should've notice their absence!

I tried to swing my arms around to chase away these pests, but they kept attacking me. They must be trying to protect the fire spirit. Such annoyance!

"Nightmares! Get _rid_ of these pests!" I ordered loudly in frustration.

The Nightmares immediately attacked the wisps, who were now flying away from my black horses in fear.

"NO!" Jack screamed in horror. He was already sweating and breathing in exhaustion from the pain earlier, but he still had energy to try and struggle again. "Don't you DARE touch my wisps!"

I ignored the boy and let the Nightmares do their job. The black horses chased the screaming wisps and with a swift blow, the Nightmares crushed the wisps one by one with their strong jaws.

_Aaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!_

The wisps screamed in fear as each one of them were extinguished. One by one, the little flaming pests were being exterminated.

"NOOOOOO! STOOOOOPPPPP!" Jack screamed in devastation. His eyes were wide in horror as we watched his wisps being taken out. He fought even harder to free himself, but he no longer had any strength left. He was helpless and could only watch his little flames die before his eyes. "PLEASE! STOP IT! I promise I'll listen to whatever you say! Don't hurt my wisps! PLEASE!"

_Aaaaaaahhhhhhhh! Aaaaaaahhhhhhh!_

Little by little, the number of the wisps were dwindling rapidly. Tears were streaming down from the boy's horrified eyes. He continued to scream and cry out in pleas, but I only treated as nothing but air to my ears.

_Aaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!_

_Crush!_

Finally, the last of the wisps were gone. Not one survived. The Nightmares completed their job swiftly.

Now that the extermination was over, there was an eerie silence.

The boy was completely dead silent from the shock. Tears were still running down his face, but his eyes became blank from overwhelming despair. I can see it in his eyes that his spirit was completely shattered. His heart was completely broken.

It almost pained me to see such misery in his eyes, but what's done was done. I had no choice but to play this card since the boy wouldn't listen to me with that temper of his. Even though I never expect to have to go this far, but it had done what I needed. The boy's will was now broken.

I tried to break into the boy's memories again. The black sand seeped into the golden container like water. It was now easier since the barrier that was protecting the boy's mind was now gone.

"This is what happens to those who disobey me," I said to the boy. I wasn't sure if he heard me or not since his eyes already looked dead. "But rest assured, this will be quick. Your memories and your pain will be gone. You will remember nothing from before but you will be reborn with new ones. No wisps, no pain nor despair."

As my powers slowly took control of Jack's mind, the black sand that was holding him captive was slowly shifting and growing in size. More black sand started to swarm around the boy and add to the mass..

I watched as the black sand slowly engulfed him completely and wrapped around him like a cocoon. I will have to wait patiently as my dark powers seeped into the boy's body and change him to be what I always wanted.

My perfect henchman.

* * *

**~Abby's Side~**

Abby was walking through some strange unfamiliar forest with the black stallion and wisp beside her. They just recently came out of a crack at the side of a cliff after walking through some very long tunnels inside. It took them awhile to get out from the dark underground city, but somehow, the black stallion was able to lead them out without getting lost once.

The sky was already night and filled with billions of tiny twinkling stars in the dark sky. There were some clouds hovering above and covering some part of the moon.

As they were walking, the black stallion suddenly made a stop and stared at the sky with its ears twitching around as if it was hearing something.

Sensing that something was strange, Abby asked the black stallion curiously, "Is something de matter?"

The black stallion didn't show any sign of replying to the little girl. It just continued to stare at the sky. Its ears kept turning from side to front to back and then to the side again. They kept flipping around like that for awhile. Did it hear something? Was something the matter?

Abby stared at the stallion curiously until she heard a cry from behind her. She quickly turned around and saw that the wisp was twitching and flickering as if it was in pain. It was squeaking and crying out like it was suffering.

"Wights? What de matter?" Abby cried out in shock. She grabbed the wisp out of the air and examined it in her palms with worry. "Are you hurt? Are you havin' tummy ache?"

The wisps was still squeaking and twitching in her palms. The flame was starting to slowly shrink as if the wisp was going out like a dying candle light.

"Wights? Wights! Don' go owt!" Abby stared to cry out in shock. She can tell that something was wrong with the wisp, but she didn't know what to do. She can only watch helplessly as the wisp was dying in her hands. "Pwease don' go away! Stay with Abby!"

But nothing she said can stop the tiny flame from slowly going out before her teary eyes.

Without noticing, the black stallion appeared beside her and lowered its head as if examining the tiny wisp in her hand. Abby stared at the stallion in surprise, wondering what it was doing.

Suddenly, its usual white eyes started to glow orange and a burst of fire lit up in its eyes. Its eyes were _literally_ burning with fire! But for some reason, it wasn't harming the stallion whatsoever.

Of course, Abby didn't expect this, so she squeaked and jumped a few feet backwards in shock. It wasn't everyday she finds a horse with fire _literally_ burning in its eyes like this.

The stallion didn't seemed bothered by Abby's reaction and walked up closer to her again.

Abby didn't know what to do or expect from a horse with fire burning in its eyes, so she just froze in place and waited to see what the stallion wanted to do.

Once the stallion got close enough, it dipped its head towards her hands. Its muzzle was only a few inches away from the tiny wisp, who was now the size of a dime. Then with a slight soft breathing, fire came flowing out of its nostrils and wrapped around the wisp.

The flames didn't harm Abby's hand nor did she feel any burning. Abby stared in shock as she watched the horse breathed fire into her hands. The flames was warm and comfortable. Almost similar to her brother's except... something that was slightly different. Her brother's were gentle and soft, but this fire felt wild and powerful.

Then right before her eyes, the stallion's fire slowly restore the wisp's energy. The stallion's energy was being transferred into the wisp's body, preventing it from going out. Now the wisp was growing and returning to its normal size. The stallion was saving the wisp's life.

Inside Abby's thoughts, she can only wonder,

'_Can all horsey do that?_"

* * *

Thank you for reading. Please comment or leave feedback or suggestions.

Oh Abby, the questions she think in your head always seem to be unimportant to the situation, but hey, why am I question a child's mind anyways?

Back from my Japan trip and damn was it a hell lot of fun. I already feel like going back again, but I don't think it will be anytime soon. I'm going to save up money and try to apply for a job in Japan once I graduate.

But for now, I'll be trying to finish this story first. It's been so long since the first time I post this.


	20. Chapter 18 Burned to Cinder

**Disclaimer: I do not own the ROTG universe or its original characters. This story is written within the ROTG universe. The rest of the characters belong to me. **

* * *

**Chapter 18: Burned to Cinder**

**~Sandy's Side~**

The situation for the Guardians was looking pretty bad. Not only was Lantern being used by Pitch Black, but the Nightmares just recently stole Lantern's teeth. All the guardians were all anxious and confused at what Pitch would want with it. What could a person do with teeth? It was known that Tooth's teeth held memories, but from what they knew, Lantern was born an ordinary child until his untimely death.

Sandy did find traces of black sand at the Tooth Palace, so he was also worried that his own creation was being used against him again. The sand that was meant to give dreams and happiness to children was now being used to bring nightmares and fear instead. It was already heartbreaking for Sandy to see his own dream sand being misused, but to find one of the people he cared about being used as a weapon against them was even harsher. The thought of restless children experiencing the pain of nightmares instead of a place to get away from reality left a bitter taste. It hurt to think of his children tossing and turning in their beds with such unpleasant thoughts. Although they were not related to him, he always viewed them as his own.

Since Lantern's teeth was stolen, what did Pitch want with Lantern's memories? His teeth were nice, according to Tooth, but Pitch was unlikely to appreciate the perfection of teeth. That was the only reason that Sandy could come up with for why Pitch would want the teeth. Even more curious that the fearful creature sent messages to Lantern through nightmares. Why do such a thing? He was practically handing out hints to them. Very vague hints. Was it all part of his idea of fun by watching the guardians become frustrated with this puzzle? This worried the Sandman. The other guardians also felt something ominous about this as well. They were starting to get nervous and unsure on what to do next. The tension around them got so bad that they were all arguing in the hall room right now.

"We have to go to find Pitch fast! Who knows what'll he do with Lantern's teeth," Bunny said with a hasty tone.

"I know how important it is to find Pitch and Lantern, but ve don't even know vhere zhey are?" reasoned North.

"Then what are we supposed to do? Wait until something happens?!" demanded Frost.

"Zhen tell me how are ve supposed to find zhem zhen? 'Cause I sure can't," retorted North, getting slightly annoyed.

"Pitch could be using the teeth to get to Lantern's memories. If he does that, then he can manipulate..." Tooth started to blurt out in panic. The small fairy fidgeted in midair as she came upon that disturbing thought. She flew around the air with the guardians giving her a wide eyed look.

"Tooth! Not helping!" North cut her off, starting to get very annoyed.

"Wait! Tooth might be right!" Frost realized. He remembered the first few times he met the dark creature. Pitch stole the teeth and used it against him, who had no memories of his past life. His lack of history never bothered him until Frost found himself questioning his existence. "Pitch could be using the teeth to manipulate Lantern's memories, so Lantern would be under his complete control. Then he'll use Lantern against us!" Frost declared.

"You mean like what he did to you the last time?" Bunny had a puzzled look, "But unlike you, he remembered his past. He still remembers being human. Why would stealing his teeth bother him so much?"

"Remember, teeth holds memories," the tooth fairy reminded the rabbit. "He may remember his past, but taking away those teeth is like taking away evidence of him ever being human."

She looked sad. Taking the teeth away may have made him feel vulnerable, naked. She remembered bits of her past, but after so many centuries have gone by, they were getting fuzzy. Going back to look at her own teeth was reassuring. Catching fragments of her childhood calmed her and told her that everything was going to be alright. The past could show so much about a person's personality. A nagging feeling told Tooth that Pitch could easily use that to his advantage. The dark guardian could very much dive through Lantern's memories and find a weakness of his, which he already did.

"Then the more reason that we should hurry," urged Bunny.

"Vhy von't anyvone listen to me! Ve don't know vhere zhey are, so zhere is no vay ve can find him!" shouted North, now completely annoyed.

While the guardians were still arguing over the issue, Sandy noticed something was happening to the globe again. The lights in Europe were flickering like crazy. They were going out even faster than the ones before. Sandy tried to catch the other guardians' attention, but they were so wrapped up in their argument that nobody notice him. Being silent and all wasn't easy. He tried to point at the globe with some sand arrows, but nobody saw him. He tried waving his arms around. Still ignored. Then he tried to pull on their clothes them, but he only got brushed aside.

"Enough, Sandy. Can't you see ve're busy arguing?" Told North. The jolly old man put on hand on his side with an annoyed look.

Getting frustrated that nobody was noticing him, Sandy decided to do what he did last time no one heard him. Sandy began looking around the room to look for what he needed and he spotted what he was looking for, which was skipping away with a red cupcake.

"Bunny makes tunnels, right? So he should be able to find PItch's lair!" suggested Frost.

"Don't you think I tried that before! I've been doing for years and I still can't find his place. It's like he has some kind of magical barrier to keep me away," explained Bunny.

"Now calm down you two. This is starting..." Tooth was about to calm the men down when she heard a frenzy racket of jingles.

_Jingle! Jingle! Jingle! Jingle! Jingle! Jingle! Jingle! Jingle! Jingle!_

All heads turned towards the sound in surprise.

It was Sandy, who had this really annoyed look on his face. In one of his hand, he was grasping on an elf. It seemed that Sandy used the elf's bell to get their attention... again. Then he released the poor and dizzy elf, who fell to the floor with a loud _Thud!_, and pointed to the globe.

All the guardians looked at the globe and finally saw the lights flickering.

"Zhe lights flickering! Vhy didn't you say somezhing sooner, Sandy?" cried North.

Sandy stared at him with an 'Are-you-serious?' look and then just shook his head in an 'Oh forget it!' expression. Being the silent man wasn't easy.

"This time it's Europe," stated Tooth, staring at the flickering lights. The small continent connected to Asia had blinking lights similar to Christmas lights. Cities with concentrated light were slowly drained of energy before moving on to the more spread out areas. Half of the globe was now dark with only the most isolated places still shining, barely noticeable from the vast blackness.

Then Bunny sensed something as his nose started to twitch around like he smelled something. "Hey! Does anyone smell that?" Everyone stared at Bunny, confused by what he asked.

"Smell what?" Frost asked.

"It smells like something is burning!" Bunny realized that the scent he smelled was smoke.

"Vhat?! Did zhe yetis burn zhe cookies again?!" gasped North, shocked. "Yetis!"

"No! Wait! There's smoke coming from the globe!" spotted Tooth, pointing to the said object.

At the globe, smoke was simmering out in random areas. Then red burning cracks were appearing around the globe like it was breaking. It almost look terrifyingly like the world was breaking apart like those 'end of the world' movies. The globe was cracked in the middle like an over ripe cantaloupe with red lava like substances flowing out from the big cracks before getting swallowed by the darkness. Steam simmered a few inches above the globe and clouded above the continents. The globe was hot to the touch.

"What's happening to the globe?!" Cried Frost with horrified eyes.

Then the smoke that was floating out of the cracks began to form together into a shape. At first, it wasn't apparent what it was forming into, but after a few seconds of silent shock, the smoke was forming into a very ugly and deformed face of some sort. Its empty eye socket stared at the guardians for a while before it opened its toothless mouth wide and came at us with a chilling wail. It was like the face from _The Scream_ painting!

"Blimey! It's coming at us!" cried Bunny with wide eyes.

Everyone was about to pull out their weapons, but Sandy conjured up a wall of sand and blocked the freaky and ugly head, which burst into smoke on impact and spread around the room. The whole hall room was full of smoke and everyone was coughing like crazy.

"Oh crikey! Is everyone alright?" called Bunny, coughing through the smoke.

"I'm fine," replied Tooth, still coughing through her breath.

"What in the world was _that!?_" shouted Frost, shocked with what just happened.

Finally, the smoke started to clear out, but everyone was still coughing and gasping for clean air. The first one to get back his composure was North. The twinkle and playfulness in his eyes were completely gone and was replaced with this serious gaze that he rarely shows.

"It vas no doubt message from _Pitch_," announced North in a dark tone. "He has once again return."

* * *

**~Frost's POV~**

We quickly flew to Europe to where the lights were flickering out the most: Britain. The sky was dark with stars twinkling and the moon was in its crescent form. It was night in this part of the world, so most people would be sleeping already. We flew into London where the city was still full of lights. We flew pass the Tower Bridge and Tower of London when we started to spot something strange in the distance. Over at where Big Ben stood, there was a large dark cloud brewing above the clock tower.

"Are zhose clouds?" wondered North.

But when I took a closer looks, something about those clouds didn't seem right. It was too low in height for a normal cloud should be and the sky was clear tonight. Not a single cloud insight except for the one over Big Ben.

"There's something strange about that cloud," I thought out loud.

That's when I noticed something streaming out from the dark cloud and slithering towards the city below. The way they moved was as if they were alive. That's when I realized something about the ominous cloud. The way it was moving was odd. It wasn't a cloud. It was some kind of smoke or smog!

"It's not just any cloud. It's a cloud of smoke!" I told the other guardians.

In true Hollywood fashion, Pitch made his presence obvious and grandeur. He sure wasn't one for subtleness. Cracked open world globe with catastrophic imagines? Check. Horrified good guys? Check. Kidnapped victim? Check. Hostage? Double, check. Ominous smog shaped like skulls? Right on the dot. I was starting to see why the Black Plague was always portrayed so dramatically...

"It looks similar to the one that came out of the globe," realized Tooth.

Just when things couldn't surprise us enough, Bunny's ears suddenly perked up, alert from something.

"Duck!" Bunny shouted and pulled out his boomerangs.

"What?" I gasped, confused.

Because I didn't duck fast enough, Bunny shoved my head down forcefully with his hind legs and threw his boomerang at something behind the sleigh.

_Hiiiiiiii! Poof!_

"Ha! Gotcha!" Bunny cried out in victory. He managed to get rid of a Nightmare that came flying from behind the sleigh, but I wasn't in the mood to celebrate about it.

"Ow! Did you seriously have to use your feet!?" I cried out in pain. I think I pulled something on my neck, because it was hurting like crazy. Couldn't he just pushed me down normally?!

"Sorry, mate, but you didn't duck fast enough," apologized Bunny, but why did his sneer say otherwise. Then his ears perked up again. "More are coming!"

"Guardians! Ready your weapons!" North called out loudly. "We're about to have another battle with the Boogeyman."

_Hiiiiiiiiii! _

And right on cue, several Nightmares appeared around us. The black beasts came charging at the sleigh, but Sandy and Tooth already flew towards them, ready for attack.

Sandy whipped out his whip and slashed at the Nightmares. Tooth was darting in every direction, confusing the horses with her speed before slashing them with her two swords without them realizing it. North also pulled out his sword and swung his sword at any oncoming Nightmares while still holding onto the reign with one hand. Bunny sent his boomerangs flying in every direction, putting out one to two Nightmares every few seconds.

I also flew off and blasted the black horses with my ice powers one by one. I also had to dodge away when they came from behind. There were so many of them!

"North, I think the Nightmares might be stalling us! Get to the clock tower quick! Me and Sandy will deal with these Nightmares," told Tooth.

Sandy also nodded that he agreed.

"Alright," agreed North. "Frost! Come vith us. Ve're going to go check vhat's up at Big Ben."

I agreed and we were off towards Big Ben, leaving Sandy and Tooth behind to fight off the Nightmares.

When we got closer to the clock tower, I noticed the stream of smoke were flowing into windows of some buildings and houses. They were slithering into the bedrooms of kids that were asleep. Making them squirm and groan in their sleep.

"The smoke clouds are doing something to the kids," I told the two guardians.

"It must be Pitch's doing. Ve have to get rid of zhat cloud," said North.

We flew straight towards the large cloud of smoke. I was ready to send a large blast of ice energy at the cloud when the cloud started to move. The cloud was changing its form and turning into the same horrifying and hideous face that we saw at North's place. Oh god! Why that face again!?

When the head opened up with large mouth as if to wail, something came flying out of its dark empty throat and came shooting towards us.

The things that came shooting at us looked like some kind of dark grey skeletons of animals that had smoke streaming behind them like a trail. They're eyes were burning fiercely with fire, seeking nothing but the destruction of their enemies.

"Those aren't Nightmares!" realized Bunny. "What are those things?"

"Well, whatever those are, we have to get rid of them," I told him before I flew off towards the smog like creatures.

A smog creature that looked like the skeleton of a bull came charging at me with flames spewing out of its snout as if it was breathing out fire.

I blasted it easily with my ice blasts and the bull dispersed into smoke, but then another smog creature that looked like a skeleton of some large safari cat tried to pounce on me. I was able to dodge away and hit it with my staff like a bat.

_Roar!_

Apparently, Mr. Pussy Bones wasn't very happy with being smacked from behind and tried to pounce on me again.

"Bad kitty!" I shouted at it before I swung my staff again plus some ice energy to chill it down. Upon impact, the smog creature immediately turned to ice and shattered to pieces.

A little worried for my friends, I searched for the sleigh to find out how the situation was for them.

At Bunny's and North's side, they were dealing with a pack of smog wolves. There were almost a dozen of them and they had the sleigh surrounded. The reindeers were starting to freak out at the sight of the fearsome predators.

"North! Get me onto the roof!" ordered Bunny.

North nodded that he understood. "Hiya!" cried North as he whipped the reins and the reindeers immediately dived towards the House of Parliament.

When the sleigh was close enough, Bunny jumped right off the flying vehicle and onto the roof of the large building. Now that he was on some solid surface, Bunny was able to move around more.

Some of the smog wolves decided to go after Bunny while the rest flew after North. They surrounded Bunny from all sides, growling hungrily at the large rabbit.

"You want a piece of this bunny, then come and get it!" Bunny yelled at the wolves, holding out his boomerangs, ready to fire.

Right after he said that, all six smog wolves came pouncing at him with their fangs and claws bare, ready to sink them into his warm flesh.

Then Bunny used his boomerang like dual blades and slashed at the wolves while kicking them at the same time. He went into a frenzy of slashing, dodging, and kicking like a mad hurricane. Within ten seconds, he already wiped out the six wolves.

"Heh, never mess with a Rabbit that mastered Tai Chi," smirked Bunny.

For North, he had five wolves going after him. Since he was still holding onto the rein with one hand, North can only use his other hand to swing his sword around. When a smog wolf tried to pounce on the man of christmas, North would slashed them in a flash and _Poof!_ They were nothing but smoke.

Then, being the guardian of wonders himself, his creativity kicked in and he put the rein in his mouth, using his teeth to hold onto it. Now with his other hand free, he was able to wield two swords again. He was slashing left and right at the wolves that came at him and not once did he loose his grip on the rein. Talk about some tough teeth for an old man. Which dentist did he go too?

Now that he took care of the wolves in the air, he landed the sleigh on the roof of the House of Parliament, where Bunny was now dealing with a group of abnormally large smog komodo dragons. But with two guardians, it shouldn't be a problem to deal with them. Seeing how the two guardians had everything under control, I went back to concentrating on my own battles.

This time, a flock of smog crows came flying out of the mouth of the dark grey cloud face and came flying at me like a black ominous cloud.

_Caw! Caw! Caw! Caw! Caw! Caw! Caw! Caw! Caw!_

Because I had the disadvantage of numbers from one to who-knows-what hundred skeleton birds, I got easily surrounded. The crows were clawing and pecking me like a swarm of bees. I waved my arms and staff around to chase them away, but it was no use.

"Hey! Ow! OUCH! Stupid birds!" I shouted in pain and frustration. I quickly blew a large amount of blizzard around me like a small bomb, enough to blow the crows away. Then I quickly flew away from the flock, hoping to get a good distance away from those savage birds, but more of the crows came flying after me, _cawing_ loudly.

_Caw! Caw! Caw! Caw! Caw! Caw! Caw! Caw!_

Their cries were annoying me like crazy, so I tried to shoot several bolts of ice behind me, hoping that I can shut those damn birds up.

_Zap! Zap! Zap! Zap! Zap! Zap!_

I was able to blast several of the crows, but it didn't seem like I manage to decrease their numbers at all. There were too many of them.

"Jack!" I suddenly heard someone calling out my name, so I turned around out of reflex to see who it was.

Tooth came shooting out of the sky and shot right into the flock of crows, swiping a good number of them. This caused the birds to dispersed from the group in surprise and scatter all over the place.

Then streams of sand came shooting from a random direction and wiped out a large number of the flock.

"Nice timing, Tooth! Sandy!" I called out to them. Thank god, help has arrived! I thought I was going to turn into bird food!

"Come on, Jack. We have to exterminate these pesky birds," said Tooth, while darting at every crow and slashing them with her sword.

And this came from the bird lady. Wow, doesn't that sound ironic.

It wasn't long before the number of the crows was noticeably decreasing. Looks like working in groups was definitely better than working alone.

"You two, I have an idea!" announced Tooth. "Sandy make a trap for the birds. Jack, gather the birds and follow my lead."

Tooth began to gather the smog crows behind her, so I did the same. When all the birds were following us, Tooth called out, "Get them in one group and fly towards Sandy!" So we joined up and flew towards the guardian of dreams, who was already ready for us.

Then Sandy created a largest golden clam I've ever seen with his dream sand. The clam opened wide when we came flying towards it. When we were close enough to the clam, we immediately split in different directions, causing the crows to be confused and unable to change direction fast enough, so they flew into the clams mouth. Then the clam's mouth closed shut, trapping the birds inside.

Once the birds were caught, Sandy made the clam crush or maybe chew the birds inside, because the clam was coughing out smoke. When the clam opened its mouth again, puffs of smoke floated out, but no traces of the birds.

"What happened to the Nightmares?" I asked when I remembered that Tooth and Sandy were fighting a group of Nightmares earlier.

"They just suddenly retreated after we took out a good number of them," told Tooth, unsure. "We tried to follow them, but they quickly disappeared into the shadows so we came after you guys instead."

Just when were still trying to figure out what was going on, an evil and chilling laughter echoed around us. But what bothered me the most wasn't the sudden cold and evil laughter out of nowhere, but how familiar it sounded.

"Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Looks like you guardians are still tough as ever," said the evil voice.

Without having to see the face of the person talking, I immediately knew who it was.

"Pitch! Show yourself, you coward!" I shouted into the air, angrily.

"And your as rowdy as ever, Frost," replied Pitch.

Then a large swarm of black sand floated out of nowhere and massed together in the sky before us. The sand gathered together like a giant orb before dispersing into the air. Standing at the top of a platform made of black sand was the King of Nightmares himself.

He stood confidently with a smirk across his face. His eyes were burning with eagerness which, without a doubt, it had something to do with getting his revenge.

"It's been awhile, Guardians," greeted Pitch.

"Pitch!" growled North. "It looks like last battle taught you nozhing."

"Oh, don't worry, North, I definitely learned something from that humiliating battle," assured Pitch. "I learned that I had to be stronger and use a different means to beat you guardians. I even found some help from a talented fire spirit."

"Help? You force him more like it!" I retorted back loudly at him. Out of anger, I flew at him with all I've got. My hands were itching to punch that smirky face of his so bad.

"Jack! Wait!" I could hear Tooth calling me from behind, but I was too absorbed in wanting to kick Pitch's ass that I ignored her.

But before I could even reach Pitch, a cloud of smoke came out of nowhere and massed together between me and Pitch. I immediately break myself in time before crashing into the cloud. Then suddenly, a figure came shooting out of the cloud towards me, so out of instinct I held my staff up in defense.

_Klank!_

Something seemed to have hit my staff when I felt the force of the impact and heard that sound. Now that whatever tried to hit me was now trying to push down on me, I was able to get a close look of my attacker. When I saw the weapon the figure was using, my mind almost froze from shock.

A lantern pole...?

That lantern and its pole looked really familiar, but at the same time different. The lantern itself looked more like a cage than a lantern and it had this sinister face on it. The pole also didn't look any less creepy than the lantern as well.

Also, the figure before me was wearing a black jacket with a hood, dark blue jean, and black boots. The hood was up, so his face was slightly covered, but I can still make out his curly black hair.

Something about this black hooded guy made me feel suspicious, so when we both jumped back to send another attack. I sent a bolt of ice power while the black figure shot a fireball at me.

_Boom!_

A strong wind exploded everywhere and mist engulfed both of us. I've seen this reaction of two powers colliding before. When fire and ice collide, a huge explosion always occur. I know only one person that can control fire.

When the wind blasted at the figure, his hood also flew off, revealing his face. I stared in awestruck when I saw who it was.

"Lantern?" I spoke out in shock.

It was definitely Lantern, but his hair and eyes were black as coal. His skin was pale as if it was never touched by the sun... And his gaze... they were so cold and dark. A malevolent sneer ran across his face that made my body tense up, sensing the evil from his eyes.

I couldn't believe what I was seeing. The sudden change in Lantern's appearance threw me off. What happened to his fiery red hair and glowing yellow eyes? What happened to him? Why did this Lantern before him look so... _evil_?

"Your fight is with me, Jack Frost," Lantern said with the evil grin. Then he came at me in full speed. I was too shock to realize how fast he was until he appeared in front of me in a mere second. Then he sent a large flame thrower burning from his palm right at me.

_BOOM!_

I barely managed to create a small energy shield in time before the impact. The explosion from the impact blasted me right out of the sky and sent me falling towards the ground.

"Jack!" I could hear the other guardians screaming for me.

I immediately woke up from my shock and realized what was happening. I quickly regain my posture in the air and flew back up. I could see Tooth and Sandy trying to fly towards me to help, but a herd of Nightmares were blocking their way.

"Now now, adults shouldn't interfere in a children's fight," chuckled Pitch.

"Pitch! You dirty rotten piece of... !" Bunny cursed furiously.

I didn't have time to hear what other names Bunny was calling Pitch, because the evil Lantern was flying after me. I had burns all over my clothes and some bruises from the explosion.

Dark Lantern sent several crows made of skeleton and smog at me, so I tried to fly as fast as possible. Damn! Not more crows! The flock of smog crows followed close behind me, cawing like some kind of war cry.

Thinking quick, I dived into the tall buildings, hoping I could out fly them and maybe gain some advantage with the maze like alleys. To think, I have to fight my own friend again and in a situation that I never imagined would happen.

* * *

**~North's POV~ **

I couldn't believe what I was seeing. The young fire spirit was no longer the bright and playful boy anymore. His soul and heart were twisted and full of darkness. I didn't need my belly to tell me this since I could obviously see it with my own eyes. Not only did his appearance changed, the look in his eyes were filled with evilness.

I couldn't do anything as I watched in shock as the fire spirit attacked the snow spirit before they both disappeared into the city.

"Vhat did you do to zhe boy, Pitch!?" I demanded with a dark tone.

"Oh, I just tweaked around with his teeth is all," answered Pitch, not fazed my outburst. "And about that name of his. Well, it was kind of complicated to call him Jack when there are two Jacks I know. Quite confusing really."

"How DARE you! HOW DARE YOU MESS WITH HIS TEETH!" Tooth screamed Tooth furiously. Her feathers flared up furiously with her anger. If she was anywhere close to Pitch, she would be slicing the man with her two swords in a flash.

"What do you mean by that, you nutcracker?" demanded Bunny, glaring fiercely at the black robe man. He must've caught Pitch's last statement, because I too was confused by the boogeyman's words.

"Well, since I gave him a new look, new memories, and a new identity, so I thought why not give him a new name as well. He _is_ my henchman, after all," explained Pitch. "So I have him the name... _Cinder_... Like how he'll _burn_ his enemies to _cinder_." Then Pitch laughed hysterically as if he finally achieved what he wanted.

"ZHAT'S ENOUGH!" I yelled out in anger. I had enough of his crazy and messed up mind!

The other guardians and i immediately went after Pitch. Sandy and Tooth went flying into the air while Bunny and I took the sleigh and flew after the two. I could see in their eyes how enraged they were. I, too, was not any different from them. My inside was burning with fury.

But before we could get to Pitch, several Nightmares appeared and blocked our way, protecting Pitch like his personal bodyguards.

We tried to break through their ranks, but when we were about to get through, several smog horse skeletons came to aid the Nightmares. This made the situation much harder to get through with the army of Nightmares and Smog horses before us.

"Damn ponies!" Bunny cursed in frustration.

Pitch just chuckled at our fruitless attempts in amusement, which made me want to slice that smirky face of his with my swords.

* * *

**~Frost's POV~**

When I sent several ice bolts at the flying bird skeletons, I wasn't able to hit all of them so I still had quite a lot of them still chasing me. I flew into a corner with a narrow alley, so when the flock flew in, I was able to zap them in a close space.

_Zap! Zap! Zap! _

The crows cawed loudly before bursting into wisp of smoke. With so many birds turning to vapor, it created a large fog of smoke that spread through the alley. Then I notice something flying right out of that large smoke towards me, so out of reflex, I lifted my staff in front of me in defense.

And right on time, something came slamming onto the staff.

_Clank!_

"That's all you have, Frosty?" taunted Lantern, looking at me arrogantly with a smirk on his face. "And I thought you were stronger than that."

"Lantern, what happened to you?" I demanded as I tried to prevent the lantern pole from pushing down at me. "What did Pitch do to you?"

"Do to me?" Lantern said it like this was a stupid question. "You should be more worried about what I would be doing to you." Then he jumped back, spun around, and kicked me in the chest. The force of the kick knocked the air out of me and sent me diving to the ground.

I crashed into a pile of trash cans with loud clanking and banging of the trash cans scattering everywhere. I could feel my whole body bruising and aching already from that last attack. Why the hell was Lantern so strong? Or was I too weak because I couldn't fight Lantern seriously? Even though I getting my butt kicked, I still can't fight Lantern. I don't want to fight Lantern at all.

"You're pathetic," I heard Lantern criticized above me. I looked up and saw Lantern looking down at me from above. Seeing those cold eyes made me even devastated to see my friend become like this. Why did this have to happen?

"Oh and for your information, my name isn't Lantern. Who the hell would name themselves with such a retarded name, It's _Cinder_, got it?" corrected the dark spirit. "I hope you still can remember that after I beat the crap out of you."

A malicious sneer ran across his face as he gathered a large amount of fire in front of him, forming a large fireball the size of a cannon ball.

I stared in wide eyes in shock as the fireball grew larger and larger before my eyes, but what really pulled my gaze was not the fireball that was about to roast me alive any second, but the vicious smile and evil glee in his eyes that showed how much he was enjoying this.

He was no longer the Lantern I knew.

"I hope you like crispy burnt. If not, well, sucks for you," the evil spirit called Cinder laughed. Just when Cinder was about to throw the fireball the size of a car at me, a loud booming sound echoed loudly all over the city.

The clock tower hit midnight and the bells were ringing loudly throughout London.

_DONG! DONG! DONG! DONG! DONG!_

* * *

**~North's POV~**

The booming of the large bell jolted all of us guardians to a stop. We practically froze at the same time from the sudden booming sound.

"It looks like it is time for us to go. Tonight was only an announcement of my return and also introducing my new partner. It was nice seeing you all again and I really look forward to my _revenge_," he smirked. Then he yelled out loudly for his henchman, who is who-knows-where fighting Jack, to hear. "Cinder! It's time to leave!"

Immediately, the dark and evil spirit appeared from a large amount of smoke that formed out of nowhere beside Pitch. Cinder flew to Pitch as ordered like a faithful dog. I tried to fly over to him, but the Nightmares and Smog horses were blocking my way.

"Lantern!" I tried to call to him.

Lantern didn't reply. He just stared at me with that evil grin on his face.

"It's time for us to go," told Pitch. "Until next time, Guardians."

"PITCH!" I shouted with all my anger pushed into it. Before my eyes, black sand swarmed around Pitch and Lantern and they disappeared into thin air. Once again, I couldn't save the boy from the Nightmare King.

* * *

Thank you for reading. Please comment or leave feedback or suggestions.

And now fire spirit has officially become an evil spirit.

Man, looking up major tour spot in Britain was quite some work. Had to choose ones that people are familiar with. Hope you like the chapter because this chapter went a major change once. About more than half the story was edited and changed when I felt that the dark Lantern didn't have enough character. Originally, I was using a emotionless puppet Lantern, but changed it to evil Lantern instead. Thought it would make the story more interesting and help get the plot moving more.

**Thank you RainSonata for looking through it and editing some parts for me. **


	21. Chapter 19 The Nightmare King's Desire

**Disclaimer: I do not own the ROTG universe or its original characters. This story is written within the ROTG universe. The rest of the characters belong to me.**

* * *

**Chapter 19: The Nightmare King's Desire**

**~Pitch's POV~**

Oh it was so worth it to see those look on their faces! The sharp lines drawn on their expressions was worth hiring an artist for a painting. If the artist wasn't dead. Their horror, devastation, anger, and frustration was worth all that patience. It took me months to prepare the nightmares and years to regain enough energy to summon my Nightmares. I did not think my nightmares would have been enough to manipulate the pumpkin boy so easily. He was now my puppet and I could make him move however it pleased me. My struggle for power has become a game of chess where I had all the right pieces. My powers had finally returned and I was able to free myself from this underground confinement.

And all this happened thanks to my new right-hand man.

"You did a splendid job, Cinder," I complimented the boy. "If it wasn't for you, I probably wouldn't have come this far." I placed my hand on the boy's shoulder and noticed that he barely flinched at my touch like he would have before. Good, there was improvement.

"Those guardians are no match for us. Especially that Jackass Frost was nothing. I was hoping for a better opponent, but what a disappointment," Cinder criticized with a smirk on his face and a smug tone in his voice. The boy of ashes was lying on his lantern pole on his back while hovering in the air like a boat. He was just chilling around in the air like a surfer on his board during a calm wave.

I couldn't help but chuckle at the boy's comment. "Of course he would be weaker. He's a guardian after all," I reminded him. "And a guardians' power relies on the belief of children. That's what makes them so weak." I waved towards the globe of tiny speck of lights.

Then Cinder hung himself up side down, using his legs to hold himself from the lantern pole like some kind of monkey bar. His hooded cape and wavy black hair lung down due to the gravity of the earth. The boy stared at the globe with an uninterested gaze. It never seem to surprise me that even though spirits weren't completely affected by the gravitation of the planet, they still have things like their clothes or hair that still follow the law of gravity. Such a mysterious thought, but why question such stuff in a world full of magic.

"That sucks. Good thing we're not guardians," thought Cinder. "All we do is bring fear and terror. Heck! We sometimes don't even need to lift a finger and already people will be afraid of something they can't explain." His voice was flat and monotonous as he said this with a grim smile. The raven haired creature stroked his staff with one hand mindlessly.

"And that's why the guardians can't get rid of us so easily. There will always be fear in the hearts of humans," I agreed. "How about I let you have a go with the other guardians. Maybe that would satisfy your thirst for a good fight?"

"That would be nice," Cinder replied with a wide grin.. "I can't wait to burn that easter bunny's tail and see him run around like a freaked out rabbit! That would be hilarious to see."

"I knew you would like that idea," I chuckled at the boy's excitement and eagerness. I rubbed the boy's hair in fondness, even though he was upside down at the moment. Oh, this was such a happy moment. I was no longer alone and friendless. Now that the boy was on the same wavelength as me, we can finally destroy those guardians once and for all. Then I'll rule this world with the boy by my side. I couldn't be anymore happier than this.

* * *

**~Frost's POV~**

"Are you alright, Jack?" asked Tooth, worriedly.

"I'm fine. Just got my butt whooped _again_," I replied irritatedly.

I was sitting on a bed while a yeti was attending to my arm. He was bandaging it the best he could while not using too much force. White cloth covered my arms and my lower chest. The blood on my forehead had dried and harden. Guardians were fast healers, but even that wasn't enough to cover the more severe injuries. Yetis did have quite a lot of strength, so they had to be super careful and gentle when they make the toys and stuff.

When he was done, he mumbled and uttered gibberish, but I can tell by his hand movement and tone in his voice, he was asking if there were anymore injuries. He already gave me five bandages and a bandage around my head and chest, so I think I'm good. Anymore then I'll official turn into a mummy. I never saw Lantern fight, so the stings his burns gave under the skin was surprising to say the least. I was lucky that the burns weren't bad enough for me to see my own flesh, that would sure scare the kids if I was to meet one out of the blue.

"I think you already got all of them, Phil," I replied.

"Are you sure, mate? It looked like Lantern got you real good," asked Bunny, also looking at me with worry. He eyed the burn placed near my eyebrow. It was already forming scars around the burn.

"Yeah, I don't have anything broken, so I'm okay." Except my pride, I thought to myself. Can't believe I got beaten again, but this time, it wasn't by Lantern. Pitch turned Lantern into some dark and evil spirit. Pitch seemed to have a talent in manipulating people with emotion and fear. The anger rose inside of me and I didn't notice my hands shaking from clutching on the blanket so hard.

Then I felt something touching my hand and when I turned to look, it was Sandy. He looked at me with concern and gazes at me like he understood what I was feeling. I know the little man of dreams wanted me to feel better, but after what happened in London and saw Lantern become some evil henchman, now called Cinder, was overwhelming my emotions. How could he become...evil so quickly? How was he so easily convinced?

_Knock! Knock! Knock!_

With the sound of knocking from the door, we all turned to look and saw North standing at the door frame. The look on his face pretty much says that he wasn't in the jolliest of mood. The dark grim expression made the room tensed up and the atmosphere became heavy.

"How you doing, Jack?" asked North.

"Yes. Yes, I'm fine. I don't have any broken bones or serious injury. Only minor burns and bruises. Now can you guys get off my back?" I snapped at him. I'm starting to get real tired of having to repeat myself again and again.

"Zhat's not vhat I meant," said North. "I meant how vere you feeling here?" He pointed to his chest to show what he meant.

I understood right away what he was trying to get at. I didn't reply right away. I just stared at my hands, feeling my chest squeezing inside of me. I knew what this feeling meant. I failed again and again to save Lantern. Now he was completely on Pitch's side and I wasn't even sure if I could bring him back. Tooth told me what happened between them and Pitch when I was busy with Lantern, or now I should call him Cinder.

"Is there a way to bring Lantern back?" I asked desperately.

"I don't know..." That was all North replied, looking tired himself.

My chest squeezed painfully as my hope shrunk. Was there no way to bring him back? Will he be like that forever? Will I have to be enemies with my own friend? The thought of those questions swirled in me like a whirlpool. Was there no hope at all?

"But nothing is impossible." My head jolted up and I stared at North when he said those words. He smiled at me as if he tried to assure me, but even I can see he wasn't a hundred percent sure himself. "Get some rest, Jack. Zhe rest of you also go rest up. In zhe morning, ve'll have var meeting tomorrow to deal vith Pitch. You can use any rooms to stay tonight."

So the other guardians left the room to get some rest. I can tell that everyone was pretty tense, but they were all prepared to fight. After what Pitch did today, we weren't going to let him off that easily.

* * *

The next morning, we were all gathered at the hall room in front of the globe since North was going to make an announcement.

I was almost completely healed after a good night's rest. Since I wasn't really human, my body was able to heal itself faster than how normal people would. Well, I wasn't normal anyways. The burns and bruises were gone, but I still have some aches here and there, but they weren't too serious. I was able to get out of bed, so that means I was good to go.

There was some tension in the room from what we found out about what's been going on around the world. The large globe showed that the lights were flickering out fast. There were barely a few hundreds left. Since the time Pitch appeared in London, there was an outbreak of Nightmares and Smog creatures all over the world. The children were having nightmares and depression. This wasn't looking food at all.

But what really bothered me the most was still how Pitch turned Lantern into some kind of evil prankster. Every time I remembered what happened yesterday, my anger would rise and my determination to take down Pitch increase even more.

"As ve all know, ve are all gazhered here for very important meeting. Now vith Nightmares and Smogs, as ve vill now call zhose smog creatures, spread across zhe globe and harming zhe children, ve must fight back and protect zhe children," North declared while using his sword to point at the globe.

"So what's the plan then?" Bunny asked, curious what the Guardian of Wonders had in mind.

"I vas getting to zhat," North suddenly pointed his sword at Bunny, who leaned back in time to not get slice, and gave the large rabbit a do-not-disturb-my-speech look.

"Oy! Watch where you point that thing!" cried Bunny, pushing the blade away from his face.

"So back to vhat I vas saying. Since zhey are so many of zhem across zhe globe, ve vill be splitting up to deal vith zhe situation. I've also been observing zhe globe and notice zhat zhe children in Asia are being harmed zhe most, so ve shall start hunting down the creatures zhere. Bunny, are your Sentinels ready?" North asked Bunny.

"They've been ready for ages," replied the Guardian of Hope with his arms crossed.

"Good. You vill bring zhem to East Asia and exterminate zhe dark creatures zhere," told North.

Then finally it was my and Sandy's turn. I was eager to know where I was supposed to hunt down those Nightmares. I even hoped a little that by some chance, I would be able to encounter Lantern. Before, I saw Lantern as a fellow ally in pranks and even a rival. Now, thinking of meeting up with him again gave me a mixed feeling of want and dread. He was only a spirit for such a short period and his power has already increased by a fold. I have never had a reason to train to strengthen myself since Pitch's appearance. Lantern's sudden growth sprout was alarming.

"You two vill go togezher to Southeast Asia since none of you have helpers," he pointed his sword at us, nearly cutting my nose and cutting Sandy's hair. Geez, why did he have to bring his sword to the meeting?! "Jack, since you're still recovering, I had to have you team up vith Sandy, so he can help you fight. You two vill have to vork as two men army. Of course, Sandy can use his sand to make his own army."

"Alright," I agreed to the plan. "But can you not swing your sword around like that? It really makes me uncomfortable." Sandy also nodded that he agreed since he already lost some of his hair.

"Fine," mumbled North, putting his sword away while complaining under his breath about trying to make the meeting more interesting.

Then it was finally Tooth's turn and this time, no more sword pointing.

"For Tooth, well... No offense Tooth, but your tiny fairies vere not meant for combat, but zhey are very fast and small. Zhey can be zhe eyes and ears to find any sneaky dark creatures zhat tries to hide. If zhey find any signs of Pitch or Cinder, zhey must report to zhe nearest Guardian, got it?" asked North.

"I'll have the fairies at the Tooth Palace notified and send them out immediately," told Tooth.

"Also, Tooth, you'll go vith Bunny, since you can still fight. You'll be able to help fight in zhe air vhile Bunny takes zhe ground."

"Got it!" Both Tooth and Bunny replied.

"For me, I'll be in Russia vith zhe Yetis and Elves. Everyone understood zhe plan?" North asked to make sure.

Everyone nodded and replied that they understood. We were all prepared to fight Pitch to protect the children. That was what we were meant to do as Guardians. At the same time, I added to myself that I'll save Lantern no matter what since that's what friends were for.

We all went to our appointed destination immediately after the meeting was over. The hunt for Nightmares and Smogs had started and the time to save Lantern from Pitch's mind control was on.

* * *

**~Tooth's POV~**

"There's one over there!" I called out as I went after a smog creature. It was like some kind of large serpent, slithering away through the alley. "Oh no you don't! You're not getting away that easily!"

I didn't take me long to catch up to it due to my speed. The skeletal serpent slithered back towards me and tried to strike me with its sharp long fangs, but I quickly dodged away as the serpent missed me. I even cried out as I swung my sword down and sliced it in half, turning to smoke and disappearing into the air.

I can almost feel all my energy and emotion that was put into that swing. The anger and frustration of seeing Pitch using Lantern's teeth to control him and make him do things like this made me really upset, so I've been releasing all my stress and anger into getting rid of these Smogs and Nightmares. I hated Pitch so much right now that I wanted to give him a punch strong enough to knock all his teeth out. Of course, he wasn't going to get any coins from me.

Once I was done with that slithering skeletal creature, I flew back to where Bunny was. When I came back to where I left Bunny, I stared in shock at the scene.

"Bunny!" I called out in shock upon seeing Bunny surrounded by five Nightmares.

"Don't worry those little feathers of yours, mate. I got these ponies under control," assured Bunny.

Two Nightmares charged at him from both sides, but Bunny dodged it by jumping up into the air and threw an egg-bomb at them.

_Boom!_

Once the first two Nightmares were taken cared of, another Nightmare came charging after him as well. Bunny pulled out his two boomerangs and held them tightly in his paws. He jumped and kicked the Nightmare in the face before swinging his boomerang down like a sword. Then it went _Poof!_ and dispersed into a puff of sand like the others.

Then he quickly threw his two boomerangs at the last remaining two Nightmares that were about to charge at him as well. The boomerangs spun through the air, flew behind the two beasts, and swiped them before they even realized it.

"See?" smirked Bunny.

"This isn't time for playing around! We have to get rid of these dark creatures as soon as possible before Pitch comes up with something crazy!" I snapped at him, angrily.

"Woah, cool down, mate. What got your feathers fuzzed up?" Bunny tried to calm me down.

Realizing what I just did, I felt slightly guilty for snapping at him like that. "Oh god, I'm so sorry, Bunny," I quickly apologized. "I was just a little..."

"Stressed out?" Bunny finished my reply. "Seeing what Pitch did with Lantern's teeth, I'm not surprise. But you're not alone, mate."

"Yeah, I know, but..." I was about to say something, but I was cut off by Bunny.

"Don't worry, we'll find Pitch," he assured me. "And when we do, we'll teach him not to mess with us. Especially, mind controlling our friends." Then he punched his palm to express how serious he was.

"Thanks, Bunny," I smiled. He was really trying to be considerate, but that didn't stop my feelings from being heartbroken for the teeth that was stolen. I can't believe that the teeth that I was supposed to look after and keep safe were stolen _twice! _ And in a short period of time at that! I was really failing as the Guardian of Memories. Now Lantern had to suffer for my own oversight. "Do you think we'll be able to save Lantern and bring back his memories?" I asked out of desperation for hope from the Guardian of Hope himself.

"Well, I can't say I'm confident what will happen in the future, but what I'm sure is that friends never leave friends behind," Bunny said with a confident look in his eyes. Then he looked around while using his superb hearing to listen for any more Nightmares and Smogs. "Sounds like there's some more in the East. Let's go." Then Bunny dashed away towards the east where he heard the cries of the dark creatures.

I immediately flew after him. Bunny word's really helped lift my spirit up. He was right. Feeling down about it won't change anything. I have to do something now to make a difference. I vowed to myself that I'll definitely save Lantern and defeat Pitch, because I am a Guardian of Memories. Anyone who dares tamper with a memory will meet my wrath.

* * *

**~Pitch's POV~**

"So they're having an Around the World Extermination mission, I see." A Nightmare reported to me on the Guardians' movements. Hearing this, I wasn't that surprise. I can say that I was expecting this. "Those Guardians were almost always quite predictable. Let's see how long they can hold before they exhaust themselves out."

While I was enjoying myself by imagining the Guardians slowly losing their energy as they continue to fight an endless struggle, three Nightmares came up to me nervously. I can feel their nervousness, so I became somewhat confused.

"What is it?" I demanded while staring at the dark beasts, annoyed that they disturbed my daydream.

But what the black horses reported to me made me not only shocked, but extremely furious.

"WHAT!?" I shouted in outrage at the black horses, who shrunk back in fear. "THE GIRL IS GONE?! HOW DID YOU IMBECILES LOOSE A LITTLE GIRL! SHE WAS LOCKED UP IN A CAGE THAT WAS HUNG SEVERAL FEET IN THE AIR FOR GOODNESS SAKES! HOW CAN SHE DISAPPEAR WITHOUT A TRACE!? WHAT WERE YOU FOOLS DOING?!"

The Nightmares didn't say anything as they stared at me with their heads low and ears flipped down in shame. I couldn't believe they could lose a little girl that was locked away securely in a place that she can't easily escape! She must've had help, but from who?

"Yo Pitch, what the hell was the scream for?! You almost knocked me right out of the air!" Cinder complained, hanging from his lantern pole. He probably almost fell off from my outburst. "And what's this thing about a girl? I didn't know you kidnapped a girl."

"Jack!" I figured out almost immediately of who it was that could've done it.

"Frostie? Here? You serious?" Cinder stared at me in surprise.

"No, not that _Jack_," I corrected him.

"Then which _Jack_?" He stared at me, confused. "I don't know any other Jack then the snowball maker."

Oh...Right. The boy didn't remember. His memories were replaced with new memories I created for him, so he has no memories of ever being Jack O'Lantern nor ever hanging around with the guardians. I even change all his memories, so that he only remembered that he joined me because he loved bringing as much fear as I do and hated the guardians to the gut. Especially that Jack Frost.

"Don't worry. It's not a _Jack_ that you would know," I quickly came up with a lie. "Besides, I already got rid of him, so he won't be causing us anymore trouble. It just seems that he managed to pull something behind my back right before I erased him."

"Okay... so whatcha gonna do about that girl you mentioned?" asked Cinder, curious. "Do you want me to hunt her down? I have nothing better to do and I'm bored as hell."

"No. No need. I'll have the Nightmares search for her since they were the ones that lost her in the first place," I glared at the Nightmares as I said that.

The Nightmares lowered their heads in shame. Then they quickly disappeared into the shadows, no doubt, looking for the girl.

"You know what? I'm outta here," Cinder announced as he was about to fly off.

"What?" I demanded in surprise, turning to look at Cinder.

"I already told ya. I'm _bored_," explained Cinder, making a bored face. "I'm gonna go find myself some fun. Maybe some kids to scare the hell out of."

So that was what he meant. He scared me for a moment there. I thought he was about to abandon me out of the blue.

"Oh, I see. Well, you can go and have as much fun as you want. Just be careful if you encounter the Guardians," I warned him just in case. I don't want anything to happen to my favorite henchman after all. Well, the only one in fact.

"Yeah yeah, _dad_. If I find any stupid guardians while I'm out, I'll just run them over with a truck. Happy?" he said with his hands on his waist and mischievous sneer on his face.

For some reason, when he said 'dad,' I thought my heart skipped. Dad? That sounded... nice. He probably said that as a joke, but I kinda like that title. I forcefully pushed the thought aside before looking at the boy again. Such emotions were trash and were pointless. Emotions was why it was so easy to control humanity with the gift of fear.

"Alright, tiger," I smirked back at him. "But after your training, then you can go."

"Ah man! Fine! Where's those damn horse I have to fry? I want to make this quick!" Cinder was about to go off to find his preys when I stopped him.

"Oh no. You won't be fighting the Nightmares today," I told him. "I'll be your opponent." Then I conjured up a large scythe from my black sand and held them tightly in my grasp while I sneered at the boy.

Cinder was a little shock by this, but then an excited grin ran across his face. "Fine by me. Don't go crying when I kick your ass after this."

I chuckled and said, "Say that after we're done, then we'll see who will be crying afterwards."

Then Cinder came at me and I swung my scythe at him. His training has now begun.

* * *

**~Abby's Side~**

"You awight?" Abby asked the wisp in her arms as she was walking.

Several minutes ago, the wisp was in so much pain and barely stayed lit. It was thanks to the mysterious fire breathing stallion, who gave some of its flame for the wisp to stay alive. Now the poor wisp was exhausted and resting in Abby's arms.

The wisp blabbered that Abby felt that it was saying that it was fine, though she can feel the exhaustion in its tone. Abby hugged the wisp tighter, hoping it would make it feel better, which the wisp did give her a warm smile in appreciation.

"Where we goin'?" Abby asked the black stallion in exhaustion. "I'm tired."

The black stallion didn't seem to bother to reply to the child's exhausted cry. The stallion had been walking and walking for who knows how long. Abby didn't know where it was leading them or why it was helping them. She just felt safe being with this horse.

"My feet hurt," she whined. Not surprising since they've been walking for so long and the child was reaching her limit.

The stallion stopped in its track and its white blank eyes stared at the little girl. It seemed to have paused as if it was thinking of something.

Abby also stared back at it, hoping the large horse would let her little aching feet rest. She even tried making a pleading puppy face at it. Does puppy-face work on horses?

But then suddenly, the stallion's head shot up and both its ears were facing forward. It looked like something alerted the stallion and it wasn't something good. The stallion immediately used its teeth to grab Abby's collar from behind and threw her onto its back.

"Wha? Hey!" Abby was caught off guard from this, but she was able to land onto the saddle perfectly.

The wisp was very much surprised by this and shot out of Abby's arms. It started to blabber like crazy in anger at the stallion, but the horse itself didn't seem bothered by the small fireball.

Even though Abby was still in shock from being lifted up and thrown onto the back, she was able to grab onto the handle on the saddle in time before the stallion dashed through the forest.

Abby wanted to scream at first, but her teeth were biting onto each other so hard that she wasn't able to make any noise. The wind was rushing through her face and the sound of the hooves pounding onto the ground could be felt. Every step the stallion made was like riding through a bumpy road.

She rode ponies at the fair before, but it was never this fast and there was always a strap to keep her from falling off. But now, not only was the horse running at a ridiculous speed, she had no strap to keep her from being thrown off! She can only hold onto the saddle for dear life and hoped she doesn't fall off.

The wisp was flying beside them, trying to keep up with the stallion's speed. It tried to yell at the stallion to slow down, but the stallion just ignored it. It was like it was trying to concentrate on running as fast as possible. Of course, the wisp didn't understand why the horse was in such a rush.

Then it heard the sound of other hooves galloping in the distance.

_Hiiiiiiiiiii!_

That cry! The wisp immediately recognized that cry. The Nightmares were on their trail and heading this way! No wonder the stallion was in such a rush. It was trying to get away from those black dark horses.

Abby also heard the cries too, because she looked back when she heard them. She can't see anything in the darkness, but she can hear the sound of several hooves pounding on the ground in the distance. After awhile, Abby was able to make out figures running through the trees.

"Dhey comin'," she told the stallion.

The Nightmares were catching up from behind them. They're speed and strength were more powerful now with Pitch's power rising, so it didn't take them long to find Abby.

As the small herd of dark horses were getting closer, the stallion slowed down and turned around to face them. The stallion decided that if it can't run away from their pursuers, then it will have to stand and fight. It stomped its front hooves onto the ground with a loud pound as if creating intimidation for the dark horses.

It seemed to have worked for awhile since the dark horses wouldn't come near them. They were standing about ten feet away. There were a total of five Nightmares and they had the stallion surrounded. It didn't look like they would be able to get away, but the stallion didn't look nervous at all.

Abby, on the other hand, looked slightly afraid. She looked around her, not sure how they would get out of this. The wisp was also staring nervously at the dark horses.

"Horsey..." Abby called to the stallion, hoping that it knew what to do.

The stallion stood firm on its ground. It glared at the Nightmares like they were nothing but pests to it.

The Nightmares can sense that the stallion wasn't afraid of them at all and this made them slightly confused. They had the numbers, but why did they feel like they were at a disadvantage? But remembering their mission, they decided to get closer to the stallion.

Abby could see the Nightmares slowly closing in on them. She was starting to lose hope of getting away and started to shake in fear.

When the Nightmares were getting closer, the stallion lift its front legs high into the air, neighing loudly at the dark horses. Abby didn't expect this and almost fell off, but luckily she was holding onto the handle of the saddle tightly. Then the stallion's eyes burst into flames again, but this time it wasn't just the eyes that caught fire. Both the mane and the tail also burst into flames, dancing wildly and brightly at anyone who laid eyes on it.

Abby was shocked to find fire burning right in front of her, but the heat didn't harm her at all. It was warm and bright that Abby couldn't stop looking at it with awe. She was so tempted to touch the flames, but she was holding onto the saddle with both hands to keep her from being thrown off.

The Nightmares were shock by this and froze in their tracks, feeling the intimidating power bursting from the stallion. Their eyes were wide in fear and some were starting to step backwards.

But the stallion noticed their movement and decided that none of them will escape. It sent its hooves smashing onto ground and a wave of flames came bursting out of the ground and flew in all directions. The wave of fire smashed into all the Nightmares, making them disperse into tiny black sand and wiping them out in mere seconds.

Abby and the wisp stared in awe at the destruction in front of them. The Nightmares were gone, but there were small flames burning here and there on the ground.

The stallion snorted like what happened earlier was nothing to it. Then the fire from its mane, tail, and eyes disappeared and went back to its normal state. Seeing that there won't be anymore pursuers for a while, it turned around and continued to walk away from the scene and into the dark forest.

* * *

Thank you for reading. Please comment or leave feedback or suggestions.

If any of you readers think I made up Pitch's longing for a family out of nowhere, then you're mistaken. Remember when Pitch was trying to tempt Jack Frost to come over to his side and mentioned of wanting to have a family? Some of you may think that he was only using that to make Frost pity him, but no. In the novel version, some of you might already know that Pitch really does have a daughter, who goes by Mother Nature, but due to his longing for his daughter who he hasn't seen for so long made him mentally weak. This was what caused Pitch to get easily hypnotized by the Fearlings and Dream Pirates to release them from their prison and got possessed by them, which turned him into the Nightmare King.

The movie and book versions don't really connect to each other, but I still wanted to use Pitch's personality of wanting a family. I don't think I will use much of the novels' storyline since it doesn't really connect very well in some stuff in the movie version. But if something arise that can be use and doesn't interfere with the movie's storyline, then I would most likely play around with it.

**Thank you RainSonata for looking through it and editing some parts for me.**


	22. Chapter 20 Forgotten But Never Gone

**Disclaimer: I do not own the ROTG universe or its original characters. This story is written within the ROTG universe. The rest of the characters belong to me.**

**Kind've missed the old Story-theme per chapter thing I used to do in the beginning. It was easier to write a lot in one chapter since all I had to do was stick to the theme of the chapter compared to having to write a long plot and try to split them in parts because of its long story length. Hope you guys enjoy this chapter.**

* * *

**Chapter 20: Forgotten But Never Gone**

**~Cinder's POV~**

Damn! Got my assed handed to me again. I rarely get to train with Pitch, but it's even rarer to beat him. When was the last time I beat him in a match? Damn it! I can't even remember!

So after my training with Pitch, I was finally able to come out and find something fun to do. Took me awhile to decide where to go. Pitch didn't want me to be close to where the guardians were since he said he was waiting for the right moment to fight them together, so I'll be roaming the other side of the globe for now.

I decided to take a trip to North America. I'm not sure why, but I had this urge to go to this place somewhere in the West. My instincts seemed to have a mind of its own or something because it kept leading me to this specific place. Before I knew it, I found myself in Virginia... I think. My knowledge of this world was scarce as helping Pitch was top priority. There was hardly time for Pitch to teach me everything about the world as we were always training and talking about his plans.

Not sure how I found my way here, but according to the sign in front of a town, I'm in a place called _Blacksburg_. The name sound nostalgic, but I don't remember ever coming to this place. Maybe I did, but forgot. Who knows.

Alright. Now that I'm here, let's find something fun to do!

I started to fly over the town to find some people to scare the crap out of. That's when I spotted some potential preys.

Well well well, what do I have here? Three drunken teenagers with beer bottles in hand. They didn't look like the were any older than I am, so they might be underage drinkers. Nice! They were naughty children and what do we do with naughty children? Naughty children get _punished_.

*One kid had bleached spiky hair that reminded me of a porcupine. The other two... hippo-boy and foxman. They seemed to be in a get up that reminded of gangsters or bikers, because of their black jacket. Trying to look intimidating, huh? Yep! Bunch of beastly kids that needs to be tamed. Oh this was going to be fun!

The three teenagers were walking down the streets. It has been only a few hours since the sun disappeared from the sky. They were already drunk, but still able to walk home if they don't get caught by the cops first of course. Their sluggish uncoordinated walk was very obvious even from a distant. Best of luck to see how long they would last. I give it...half an hour? Give or take. I almost considered letting them go to watch a cop make them walk in a straight line, not that it was needed. They looked like they couldn't walk in a straight line and chew bubble gum even without the liquor's influence. Too bad I'm not so patience. Yes, Pitch complained about that flaw of mine, but I never said I was ashamed of it, did I?

"Man! Those couples were so easy to scare the money out of them. Let's go to some bar and paaarteee!" the porcupine guy said loudly from excitement while wobbling left and right due to the alcohol influence.

"I'm surprised that you were able to sneak out some of your dad's beers. Won't he be mad?" The hippo-boy asked the sharp and pointy face guy in amazement.

"He won't notice a few bottles missing. He's too drunk most of the time to count them," replied foxman with this smug on his face. "Besides, with this baby here, we'll be able to go anywhere." He waved a laminated card in the air. It was a fake id card with its face bearing some resemblance to the guy. "Nicked it from that sore loser yesterday." His voice was already slurred with some of his words becoming unintelligible.

Looks like their quite drunk, so their brains will be open to almost anything. Basically to make this understandable, they will be able to see the things they don't usually see. Why do you think drunkards always say they see things that others can't?

Oh this was going to be good. They won't be seeing this coming. I conjured up three saber-toothed cat smogs behind them. Their burning eyes were staring at the three teenagers eagerly, excited to find some prey to chase.

_Growl_

"What the hell was that? Was that your stomach, man?" The porcupine guy asked the hippo-boy.

"Nuh-uh. I just had five hamburgers twenty minutes ago," the hippo-boy defended himself. Then he turned towards foxman. "Maybe it was you."

"Nope. Not me," denied foxman.

"Then where the hell was that..." before the porcupine guy could finish his sentence, the same sound they heard earlier could be heard from behind.

_Growl_

All three boys turned around and they all stared in complete horror.

The saber-toothed cats were already right behind them, showing their long fangs intimidatingly. Dark grey smoke floated of out their skeletal bodies like some kind of ghost and horror stories come alive. Then one of the cats opened its sharp toothed jaws and roared.

_Roar!_

"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! RRRRUUUUUUNNNNNNN!" Porcupine guy screamed at the top of his lungs. Wow, never knew his scream was that high pitch with that appearance of his.

The three boys immediately threw their bottles of beer and dashed for their lives while the saber-toothed cats chased behind them. The boys were screaming like mad banshees as they ran through the streets.

There were also some people walking down the sidewalks, but none of them could see the smogs. So the only thing they saw was three crazy teenagers screaming down the street for no reason.

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH! SOMEBODY!" screamed porcupine guy.

"LARGE CATS WITH TEETH ARE CHASING US!" The hippo-boy also screamed.

"They're _saber-toothed tigers_, idiot!" corrected Foxman.

They're _not_ saber-toothed tigers, they're saber-toothed _cats_! Look it up on Google, pea-brains. Who's the idiot now?

The boys continued to run and scream from the terrifying zombified prehistoric cats. They even ran through people and bumped quite a few onto the ground. **One man even dropped his wig and was cursing at the teenagers furiously.

"Out of my way!" The porcupine guy shouted at anybody in front of him that was an obstacle. "Can't you people see we're being god damn chased here!"

Then porcupine guy made a sudden turn into an alley. Foxman almost ran passed it, but was able to jump back and followed the guy. Hippo-boy was having a tougher time keeping up, but he also made it into the alley.

Since it was dark in the alley with barely any lights, the teenagers didn't see a pile of trash can in their way and crashed into them.

_Crash! Bam! Bang!_

The sound of the crash was very loud and echoed throughout the alley. Trash of all kinds went flying and scattered everywhere.

The loud racket also caught the attention of a police officer who was on patrol and walking down the street. When the officer heard the noisy crash, he quickly ran into the alley where he heard the racket came from.

"The hell happened here?" demanded the officer when he flashed his flashlight at the three teenagers buried in the garbage and, _man_, were they in a mess! Not to mention, _woah_, smelly.

Porcupine guy had not one, nor two, but _five_ banana peels on his head and shoulders. That must be a record!... Holy shit! A rat just popped out of his jacket!

Hippo-boy had an empty potato chip bag over his head and... Oh my Smogs! There was a half eaten chicken leg in his _mouth_! Ugh! Gross!

Foxman, on the other hand, had rotten eggs smeared all over his clothes and head. Oh the stench! His smell rivals even a skunk. Hell! Even a skunk would fall in love with him at the first sniff of that disgusting rotten smell.

Seeing the sight of those teenagers made the officer freeze in bewilderment.

"Yes Lord! Finally! Officer save us!" Porcupine guy quickly jumped out of the garbage pile and hugged the police officer around the legs.

And he wasn't the only one. Even Foxman and Hippo-boy jumped in and wrapped themselves around the poor dumbfounded officer.

"Please! Those giant cats are going to eat us!" begged Hippo-boy.

"We don't want to be cat food!" cried Foxman.

"What hell are you boys talking about? What giant cats? And get the hell off of me!" demanded the officer, completely confused by the teenagers' action and trying to shake the kids off. I can tell by the look on the officer's face and him pinching his nose that he wasn't too happy getting a group hug from these smelly teenagers.

"Those giant cats over there!" Porcupine guy pointed in the direction they were running from, but when he looked down the alley, there was nothing in sight.

All boys' jaws dropped in shock and confusion.

"Where'd they go? They were right behind us a minute ago!" cried Porcupine guy.

"Yeah! And they were saber-toothed tigers, but they were nothing but bones and smoke!" Foxman quickly described the beasts.

"And they had fiery eyes, too!" added Hippo-boy.

"We swear they were right behind us!" Porcupine guy shook the officer in panic, trying to convince him that what they saw was real.

"Wait a minute, boys. Is that alcohol I smell?" demanded the officer smelling the alcohol from the guy's breath. "Have you boys been drinking?"

"Uh..." All three teenagers went silent.

"Now I think I know what we have here. You boys have been drinking and imagined you saw something crazy. That would explained your craziness," The Officer hypothesized. "And you boys are underage. You guys are in a lot of trouble and I need to contact your parents, so you better come to the station obediently or else."

"What? Wait a minute, officer! We weren't..." Porcupine man was trying to come up with an excuse to get himself out of this situation when he heard something that made his whole body shiver.

_Growl..._

All three teenagers looked back, saw nothing, looked at the officer, who didn't show any sign that he heard that growl, and...

"Yes! Please! Bring us to the station! Call our parents! Even put us in jail if you can! Just get us outa here!" They all pleaded in terror while clinging on the officer for dear life.

The officer was now officially stupefied by the teenager unreasonable cries and pleas. Never had he ever had someone asked to be put in jail willingly. This was definitely his first. Seeing how the boys were going crazy and losing their minds for no reason, the officer had no choice but to bring the crying teenagers with him while they were glued behind him, not an inch further.

"Don't you kids know personal space!" he shouted in annoyance.

Not far away from this beautiful scene, I was laughing my ass off. I've been following them from the beginning and was hanging upside down from my lantern pole from laughing so hard I lost my balance. Oh lord! That was awesome! Now that was a great prank!

After trying to regain my breath after almost suffocating myself from laughing so much, I started to look for my next prey. Now who to scare? While scanning the streets of the little town, I spotted a man walking alone. He seem to be carrying something like a bouquet of flowers in his arms. Not that big nor was it small. Giving it to a girlfriend? Who cares. He's my next target.

The man had short sandy blond hair and wore a white long sleeve button down shirt and brown pants. Kinda formal and not at the same time.

He walked down the streets and seemed to be heading towards the forest. Why the hell was he going there? Out of curiosity and also the urge to scare him, I followed not far behind him. In the meantime, I'll just find the right time to conjure something that would scare the crap out of this guy. The thing about scaring was...once you start scaring, you can't stop. The thrill of watching my prey's hearts stop... Well, no point in killing your prey. If you keep them alive, that means you can always come back to scare them again. It's like an all you can eat scare buffet except there's no price to it. It's like an itch on your back you can't get rid of. No matter how many times you scratch it, it gets worse. Always thinking of new schemes to frighten someone can be fun. Sometimes, it takes more effort to scare. I don't mind. That just means more planning and enjoying the results even more.

As we got further into the forest, I got more and more confused to why he came here. Where the hell was this guy going in the middle of the forest? Is he seriously going on a date with someone in the middle of this creepy forest in the middle of the night? ... Genius! I'm starting to like this guy already. Too bad I have to humiliate this guy in front of his girlfriend. In which I don't feel guilty whatsoever.

For some odd reason, the forest felt familiar like I knew this place. That can't be right. I've never been here before. Yet, it felt like I know the trees and rocks here.

Finally, we arrived at some opening in the forest and there was this cliff before us. There was a large pile of rocks and dirt coming out of what looked like some manmade entrance. It seemed to be an entrance of a mine of some sort, but caved in a long time ago.

And again with this familiar feeling as if I knew this place, but this time, I felt uneasy. I didn't like this place for some reason. Being here made me feel like something bad had happened here before. What did humans call that? Intuition? I'm not too sure where that word came from in my memory, but it was there. A gnawing feeling in the pit of my stomach gave it away of how much the place discomforted me. The forest looked like any other forest, well, besides that there was a city near it, which is odd in this era. Focus Cinder, remember the plan? Scare the shit out of the fool. It's not that hard. What the hell was wrong with me today!? The hell was with this feeling?!

While I was busy whacking my brain to get rid of that stupid nervous feeling, the man walked up to the cliff and stood there as if he was looking at something. That's when I noticed the small gravestone lying in front of the pile of rocks.

A grave? Why the hell was there a gravestone in the middle of the forest? From the look of the pile of dirt and rocks from the mine, someone must've gotten buried here when the mine collapsed. Wow, that must've sucked. Hm, wonder who the poor fella was. If he was alive, maybe I would have some fun scaring the hell out of him before his natural death. Must have been a mine worker who was too attached to his working place for his own good.

The man kneeled down and placed the bouquet of flowers in front of the gravestone. Then he took out a couple of candles he brought with him and lit them up with a match stick. They were the short, but wide kind. I like to think of them as chubby candles.

"It's been awhile, hasn't it," the man spoke. "Sorry I didn't come sooner, Jack."

_Jack?_ Did he mean _Jack Frost_? That can't be right. The icemaker was hella older than this grave! There was no way this grave would belong to the snow-making machine. That coal mine's existence probably wasn't even realized back then the old snowball lived. That made me wonder how old he was exactly. Possibly as old as this country itself. Must be someone with the same name. Yeah, that must be right. Jack's a freakin' common name. A boring name that would never make people look up twice. Like John or George.

"Honestly, I was scared to come here." The man mumbled almost to himself. His worn face had age and wrinkles for a man his age. "I couldn't find the guts to face you again after what happened those years ago. I kept blaming myself after you died. I always thought it was my fault. If I wasn't so immature and an idiot, I wouldn't have suggested to come to this mine."

Oh! So this guy was involved with the mine incident. Interesting...

"Heck! I was one hell of a mess for so long. I couldn't stop blaming myself and I stopped caring about what happened to me. I didn't even care about my future, because I thought I deserve it for taking away yours."

Strange, why do I feel depress for this guy? How should one insignificant human being mean anything to me? I scare people for that feeling of uncertainty and that uncertainty was being handed to me on a platter. Heck! Why do I even feel like I know this guy? At first, I thought I've seen him before. But after hearing him talk about his past, it felt like there was something familiar about the mine incident. Who was this guy?

"But I had that dream of you scolding me and I finally was able to stand on my feet again. Not sure if it was just a dream in my head, but if it was really you who came to me then... Thanks... Thank you, Jack. I was able to find the courage to forgive myself and move on.

"You were always the one to pull me back on my feet when I'm down. You always have been since we were little kids. I still remember that stunt you pulled during our summer camp in fourth grade. Just because the girl I had a crush on insulted me, you went and let loose a whole box full of lizards in her bed. Man, you always seem to manage to make me feel better," he laughed as he reminisced of the old days. "When I feel depress, you always make me laugh. When I get bored, you always find ways to have fun. When I get scared, you always make me feel that everything will be alright.

Suddenly, a tear ran down his cheek as he went on about his past. He smiled sadly to himself and his memories as he spoke.

"I wish you were still here, Jack. There hasn't been a day which I didn't think that. I wonder what would it be like if you were still alive. A guy like you doesn't deserve to be dead. The world could sure use more people like you. This sad, sad world." He wiped a single tear from his eye. "People who know when it's okay to smile and move on. Oh yeah, I almost forgot. Did you know you have a sister?

"Well, you were already gone before she was born, but I heard she's quite the troublemaker like you. You two would've probably gotten along just fine and drive your mother mad." Then he laughed to himself at the idea before he went silent for awhile.

"I haven't visited your family for years so I don't really know much about her nor have I seen her. I probably should see them sometime. It's probably time that I visit them after all those years. They were like a second family to me and they too said that I was like a second son to them. Even you, Jack. You were like a brother I never had. We were always together no matter where we go. I wish you were still here, Jack. I wish I can see you again."

After he said that, there was another long silent. Then the man got up, said goodbye to _this_ Jack in front of the grave, and left. As he walked away, he did turn around once to take one last look at the grave before he disappeared into the forest.

I jumped down from a tree that I have been watching from when the man was talking. I intended to scare the shit out of the guy, but now... Something happened. Maybe it was his face. Or that he was already leaving and there was nothing much I could do to bring him back. Maybe the fact that the guy was more concern about the grave than anything else dragged me down. I don't feel like doing it anymore. Just lost the mood, I guess. I mean, it would be pointless to scare a guy who was already depressed, right?

Suddenly, I felt something tickling my cheek. When I touched my cheek out of reflex, I felt something wet. What the hell!? Am I crying!? Why the hell am I crying for?! I quickly rubbed my eyes with my sleeve to wipe out the tears. Just a human. Just a mortal. He'll die some day. Just like everything on this planet. Shit! All I did was listen to that stupid sappy story from that guy and I started crying for some reason! That guy didn't even have anything to do with me! I'm a spirit! I must have been a hundred years older than him, right? I've been with Pitch since as long as I can remember. There was no way I can know that man.

I stared at the grave that the man was talking to and saw a name carved on it.

_Jack O. Lanternson_

Why did that name sounded familiar?

Without warning, there was this aching pain in my head.

"Argh!" Oh god! What the hell?! Shit!

I clutched my head in pain. It felt like something was pounding my head like it wanted to barge out. God! My head felt like it was about to explode!

_Pumpkin!_

Who was that?

Suddenly, an image of a girl appeared in my mind. She was a little girl, probably around 3 years old, looking at me with a big smile on her face. She had this light brown hair and shiny green eyes.

One second, she was in my head and then _Poof!_ She was gone. The pain also disappeared with that strange image. What was that? What did that image mean? Who was that girl?

Not wanting to go through that pain again, I quickly flew off. I was heading back to the Underground Lair. I didn't feel like pranking anymore. I just wanted to get back home where there's no sappy stories of the past and unknown little girls appearing in my head for no reason. I was so getting outta here. My heart was still pounding as I zoomed over the skies, trying to ignore the headache still going on in my head.

* * *

**~Abby's Side~**

It's been several hours since she escaped from Pitch's lair. The sun already rose hours ago and Abby was getting tired from riding on the black stallion for so long. Her poor rear was already aching from the hours of riding.

They were still traveling through the forest and have been for hours. The rays of the sun was shining through the thick leaves of the trees. The shade from the leaves was helping to cool down the temperature within the forest. It was nice and cool.

There were also sound of birds singing and insect chirping. The small breeze that blew through there also helped create a refreshing cool wind. The sound of rustling leaves and grass was quite calming and tranquil.

"Whe ar we?" asked Abby in an awkward pronunciation.

The wisp floating beside her shook its head that it too didn't know.

Of course, the black stallion didn't answer nor did it even try to. It's been acting like that since the Nightmares attacked them.

Since it didn't look like Abby was going to get any answers, she decided to just stay quiet.

After about twenty minutes, Abby was getting so bored that she was nodding off. Her eyes were getting heavy and her consciousness kept slipping off here and there. If she wasn't careful, she could've easily fallen off the horse.

Just when she was nodding off again on her probably tenth time it was, the black stallion made a sudden stop. Abby jolted in surprise and woke up in confusion.

"Ar we they yet?" Abby asked.

The wisp also babbered in confusion.

The black stallion's ears were perked up and twitching left, right, and front as if it could hear something close by.

As Abby stared at the stallion, hoping for answers, the horse suddenly kneeled down with its front legs. Then its hind legs, so now it was lying down. The stallion turned its head to look at Abby as if it was trying to say that it was time to get down, so Abby complied.

She got off with some difficulty due to her small body. She kinda slipped a bit when she got off and fell on her little rear lightly.

"Oof!" she exclaimed.

The wisp flew towards her and chattered in worry like it was asking if she was alright.

"I'm okay," she assured the wisp. Then she turned to the stallion, wondering what they were supposed to do now, but when she did, the black stallion was gone.

It disappeared without a trace.

Abby didn't hear it go nor did she even felt it leave. It was still here a second ago and now it was just... gone. It was like it disappeared into thin air!

_Eh?_ The wisp exclaimed in surprise, wondering where the stallion went.

"Horsey? Whe you go?" Abby cried out, looking for the black horse. "Horsey!"

Abby kept looking around and called out to the horse in desperation. They didn't know where they were nor did they know where to go. Did the stallion just left them here just like that?

_Snap!_

Then they heard the snap of a twig and they quickly turned around to where the sound was coming from.

"Horsey?" Abby called out, hopefully.

First, there was a sound of rustling bushes and then voices could be heard.

"Who's there?" the voice called out. "Hey, I think I heard girl shouting from over there!" The voice seemed to be talking to someone.

"What? Why would a girl be all the way out here?" asked another voice.

From what Abby could make out from the voices, they were boys'.

When the wisp heard the voices, it quickly hid inside Abby's hood. Not sure why it should hide, but it hid anyways for precaution. Not sure what kind of precaution though.

Then walking out from a bush, a boy with short brown hair and eyes stared at her in surprise.

"I was right! There is a girl here!" The boy cried out. When he spoke, Abby noticed that he had a tooth missing.

"Really?" Then another boy came out from behind him. This one had short blond hair and wore large red glasses over his blue eyes. This boy was also shorter than the brown hair boy and looked kinda nerdy.

"What are you doing here?" asked the brown hair boy.

"I don' know," Abby replied. "Horsey brot me here."

"Horsey?" The glasses boy stared at her, confused. "There's no horses here."

"Well, if you're lost, why don't you come with us. It's kinda dangerous out here, so it's better if we go to my place," invited the brown hair boy.

"Are you sure? Maybe her parents are around here. Shouldn't we try finding her parents first?" suggested the glasses boy.

"True," realized the brown hair boy. "Where's your parents... uh..."

"Abby," she introduced herself. "Mommy and daddy arn't here. I wanna go home." Then Abby started to tear up and was about to release a waterfall of cries, when the brown hair boy quickly acted on instinct.

"It's alright Abby. We'll get you home. Where do you live?" he asked.

"Blackbug, Wormginia," answered Abby, sniffing.

"Say what now?" The glasses boy was dumbfounded, never heard of such a place.

"I think she meant Virginia, though I don't think I've heard of Blackbug," thought the brown hair boy. "I'll look it up when we get home."

"Virginia? That's kinda far from here!" realized the glasses kid, shocked.

"Whe am I?" asked Abby, curious.

"You're in Burgess, Pennsylvania," answered the brown hair boy. "And I'm Jamie. Jamie Bennett."

* * *

Thank you for reading. Please comment or leave feedback or suggestions.

And the kids from the original ROTG movie has now appeared! I've been wondering whether to bring them into the story or not for awhile. After watching the ROTG movie during the Japan trip, I felt like adding him in since he did play such an important role in the movie.

*The bullies from Halloween are back

** The return of the Wig Man! Okay, I'm having too much fun bull... I mean, using him.

**Thank you RainSonata for looking through it and editing some parts for me.**

For 'Guest' who commented on chapter 19, thanks for notifying me of the typo, but what I really wanted to say is that I _did_ do my research. Being told that I _didn't_ do my research when I did a whole lot for this story, kinda offended me. I know your attentions weren't mean, but I can't help it when someone say I didn't do something when I did as if I was a lazy butt. I went to the book store and even looked through the books myself. I even looked at both the novels and picture books that existed for ROTG and watched the movie makers' process of doing the movie. According to the movie makers, they had to change a lot of stuff from the novel into the movie. Even if you say that it was after 200 years, the plot still won't fit.

1. Bunnymund in the novel and movie have different clothing and different process of painting their eggs. Novel, he's a scientist with egg painting machines. Movie, he's an outback warrior who uses magical plants that can paint his eggs. The movie makers said that they wanted to use a more eco-friendly way to paint the eggs. For his clothing, they stripped them off of him because they were very impractical to run in.

2. Sandy's Dream ship. They took that out of the movie because they just can't use it. I would've loved to see that ship in the movie, but they didn't. Even though they didn't bother to have it appear, I could've still use it if they mentioned it, but they didn't. There were so many chances to see the ship appear, but if it's not used, then it's like it didn't exist altogether. I _can_ use it in my story, but is it really _needed_? Not really. Unless, my story really needs it, I probably won't be using it.

3. MiM, book version, he's a short man. Movie, he's just a moon floating in the sky. The movie makers wanted MiM to feel more mysterious and magical, so they didn't use the short guy image. I could've used Nightlight, too, if they did use the short man image, but they didn't

4. Tooth fairy, she had two swords in the novel. Movie, she didn't. If you're going to say that she could've lost them, broke them, or kept them somewhere for safe keeping, then why didn't she get new ones, fixed them, or take them out during the battle with Pitch? The reason why I allow the two blades used in my story was because I have no idea how Tooth was going to fight the Nightmares. I don't think it was interesting to use her fists like she did in the movie, don't you agree?

5. Then lastly, Pitch black, children's book, novel, movie, they all portrayed him differently! I could barely use any reference from the books at all. _Books_, he was once a hero who got possessed by Fearlings and became evil. Then chased MiM's family and Sandy across the sky while trying to capture baby MiM. Killed parents, got sealed away with Nightlight, then released again. _Movie_, he used to be acquaintance (not really on good-terms though) with the guardians and _not enemy-terms_ with MiM. There's even an official comic on the Dreamworks Animation tumblr that shows that Pitch was indeed not the Guardians' enemy in the beginning. Actually, they're kinda like coworkers in their field while MiM was their boss or something. Pitch didn't even know how to use black sand until later when he messed with Sandy's dream sand.

And that's why I don't think the books' and the movie's plot really connect. This is also why I was so iffy with whether to include Mother Nature or not. If I did include her, I would either have to go with the novel plot (which would clash with the movie plot), edit/change the background for Mother Nature and Pitch, or make a whole new one entirely. Which you readers probably wouldn't like those ideas at all. If Dreamworks makes a sequel and added Mother Nature into the story, which is very unlikely, then that's when I'll have Mother Nature in my fanfic as well.

Though, I still try to use some stuff from the books that doesn't clash with the original movie's plot. I did do my research and I really thought hard about it. I even talked with my friends about it and they also agree that mixing the novel and movie plot together would've been a huge mess and made my story very confusing and won't make sense. Though, my friends and I liked the idea of having Mother Nature in the story, it would caused too much clash with the history of the movie plot which I'm trying to stick to right now.

Should've hear the process of how I came up with my main character, Jack O'Lantern. Originally, I had no idea who my OC will be. I had to take many steps and research to come up with Jack O'Lantern. The will-o-wisps also came from my research when I was looking up Jack O'Lantern history.

Alright, sorry for my long blabber. I just wanted to make things clear that I'm not one of those fanfic writers that don't do their research. It was like being called "an idiot" when I worked hard on this work that I almost stopped writing out of exhaustion.


	23. Chapter 21 Return to Burgess

******Disclaimer: I do not own the ROTG universe or its original characters. This story is written within the ROTG universe. The rest of the characters belong to me.**

* * *

**Chapter 21: Return to Burgess**

**~North's POV~**

"Hiya!"

_Slash! Poof!_

A Smog that looked like a skeleton of a bear with smoke coming out of its body was just taken out by me with one swing from my sword. Seventy six down, hundreds more to go. I have been fighting for the last hour and already I could feel my body getting tired and my back was starting to ache. I was strong, but I still had limited stamina. Not even spirits can fight forever. This was not a good sign. Either I was reaching my physical limit or the children were losing their beliefs in us guardians.

After many years of experience, I know my body should be able to hold much longer than this, so then there was only one reason left for my exhaustion. The children were losing their belief in us again. Loneliness lingered at the possibility of having no children holding faith in us. In today's world, children lose belief easier than they used to. In additional to the new doubt this era has brought, the speed of technology has only made it easier for faith to quickly fall and crumble.

If my strength was disappearing, then that meant the other guardians were losing their powers as well. The situation has become more dire and we were getting weaker. If human, strength came from the body's condition and nutrition, as well as mind and determination. As a spirit, the same could apply, but belief in us acted as an amplifier to our strength. Belief would make us capable of more than what we normally could do on our own.

_Roar!_

Another smog bear jumped from behind me and had its sharp claws raised to swipe me.

"Raaahhhh!" I grunted loudly as I quickly spun around and stabbed my sword into its stomach. The smog bear dispersed into smoke as its cry still echoed in my ears.

Not far from where I was fighting, there were yetis fighting the Nightmares and Smogs with their fists and clubs. They were punching and throwing their enemies like punching bags everywhere. Those with clubs were smacking and hitting the creatures. Their movements were slow compared to the dark creatures, but their will power and strength made up for it.

Some of the yetis were even using them like a bat and hit some smog wolves that came their way which sent them flying into the air. A few yetis even went as far as to use _two_ clubs and swung them around like mad beasts. Even the smog tigers and bears were having a tough time fighting them. One Smog pulled on the bat in between its teeth with growl escaping from it. A few Smog creatures teamed up against the yeti, but failed to catch them by surprise as the yeti sensed their presence and swung their weapons against the weak animals.

Then there were the elves who were doing as much as they can even with their small little bodies. They were using the toys from the workshop as weapons and transportation to move around quicker. I saw one elf propel through the air, sitting on a toy train as the vehicle crashed against a tiger with the elf jumping off to claw the wild cat with his small nails. Another toyed with a spiked yo-yo and hit a bear in the eye.

They used the ping pong shooters to shoot at smog boars, causing them to squeal in surprise from being hit by the tiny orange balls. Remote control planes, blimps, and flying saucers were flying in the air as they throw stink bombs at the enemies below. The horrible stench was creating quite a havoc for the herd of smog antelope. They were ramming into each other and knocking each other out. Then there were the lynxes that were chasing after the elves driving the remote control race cars. When the elves threw a ball of yarns at the wild cats, the lynxes immediately stopped in their tracks, stared at the tempting ball of strings, and pounced on it playfully.

Seeing that the yetis and the elves were doing fine, I felt a little more relieved and can concentrate more on my own battle. I ran into a herd of smog creatures with my battle cry shattering the air.

* * *

**~Jamie's POV~**

"And I'm Jamie. Jamie Bennett," I introduced myself to the little girl. "This guy here is my friend, Monty." I turned to my said friend.

"Hi," greeted Monty, nervously.

"Hewo," The little girl name Abby greeted back.

I couldn't help but find this funny, because my dog, which was a greyhound, was also named Abby.

It was really weird for a girl her age to wander all the way here from Virginia. How did she get here anyways? Did she get a lift from a car or a truck? I didn't see any cars pass by before I found her. I looked at her clothes and saw that it was dirty from days of wear. Did she walk all the way to the neighborhood? She did mention something about a horse that brought her here, but I didn't see any horses around here at all.

Her appearance also seemed to be pretty worn out. She had some dirt and twigs sticking out on her clothes and in her hair. It looked like she was traveling in the forest for quite some time. She was completely dirty and definitely needed a bath.

"Alright. Let's get to my house," I suggested. "Mom and dad aren't home yet, but we can wait for them when they get back. Maybe they would know what to do. So in the meantime, you should get yourself clean up and maybe get something to eat. It's almost lunch time. You can stay with me and my sister, Sophie, until my parents get home."

"Okay," replied Abby. There were still tears in her eyes from almost crying earlier.

So we all headed back to my place. Abby was following behind us, but with her little feet, she can barely keep up with us. She sometimes trip here and there, because of the branches and rocks. Seeing how she wasn't complaining or whining even though her eyes were still red from almost crying, I felt pity and wanted to help her a little.

"Here," I reached out my hand to her. "Need some help?"

Abby stared at my hand for awhile when she finally took my hand. When I felt her grasp, it was kinda weak. Well, weaker than normal. I know she's only a little girl, so her hands aren't that strong, but her grip was noticeably weak. She seemed fragile. There was uncertainty in her grasp. Her eyes showed hesitation when I offered her help. She was probably exhausted from her travel. She did came a long way.

We walked for awhile through the forest. Abby still seemed to manage to trip, but I would use my strength to keep her from falling down. It took us awhile to get out of the forest and onto the streets of my neighborhood.

Monty and I talked among ourselves for awhile as we walked until I noticed that Abby has been silent for awhile. I turned to look at Abby and noticed that she was starting to fall asleep. She yawned and rubbed her eyes, trying to keep herself awake.

"Tired, Abby?" I asked her.

She nodded tiredly.

So I kneeled down in front of her with my back towards her. "Here. Get on. I'll carry you," I told her.

Monty looked at me. "You sure you can carry her?" he asked.

"Yeah. I carry Sophie loads of time," I explained.

Abby didn't get on right away at first, but her exhaustion must've gotten the best of her so she finally climbed onto my back. Monty also helped her on, seeing she was having a hard time doing so. When I got up with the little girl on my back and started to walk, Monty walked behind me, in case Abby falls off.

"Thwank you," she thanked us.

"No problem," I replied. Then the next thing I knew, I heard a small snore from behind. Wow, she definitely was exhausted. She was already knocked out cold.

"I think she fell asleep on your back," told Monty.

"I figured," I said as I carefully carried Abby all the way home. Poor girl need her rest after that long journey.

After a long walk down the sidewalk, we finally made it home. We walked up the steps onto the porch. Since my hands were busy trying to dropping Abby, Monty helped with opening the door.

"I'm home," I called into the house out of habit.

_Woof! Woof! Woof! Woof!_

_Aah!_

"Shoot!" I forgot about Abby... Uh... I mean my dog Abby. She's going to wake up the girl Abby! Oh geez, this was going to get pretty confusing.

Abby the dog kept jumping onto her hind legs, trying to give me one of her 'welcome home' kisses as usual.

"Down, girl!" I told her, getting a lot of saliva of love from her.

"Hey, Jamie. Did you hear a screamed earlier?," asked Monty.

"Huh? Yeah, I think I did heard a scream," I realized. I thought I heard something earlier and I think I saw something flashed by at the corner of my eyes. I looked behind me, but saw nothing. I checked Abby the girl, but she was still asleep on my back. Guess it wasn't her. "Maybe we were hearing things. Could be something else?"

"I guess," agreed Monty, so he went to greet my dog. "Hey, Abby."

Then Abby the dog went to lick Monty and gave him a good licking. My friend laughed as Abby pounced on him to the ground, giving a whole of bunch of kisses. "Hahahaha! Abby! Alright already!"

Suddenly, I felt movement on my back. It looks like we woke up Abby the girl.

"Huh...?" Abby exclaimed when she woke up, rubbing her eyes. "We home?"

"Sorry if we woke you up," I apologized as I put her down. "So this is my house. Let's get you clean up or my mom is going to have a cow about bringing dirt into the house again."

"Okway," agreed Abby.

_Woof!_

"Eek!"

All of a sudden, Abby (the dog) pounced on Abby (the girl) and also gave her some licks. Of course, Abby (the girl) cried out in shock, but was then giggling as she was getting licked by the dog.

"Abby! Get off of her! Sit!" I ordered.

Unexpectedly, while my dog stopped and sat down, Abby got up and also sat down.

"Um... Not you, Abby. I meant my dog." I pointed out to her.

"Doggy is Abby too?" Abby looked confused. She turned to the dog, who also looked at her back with its tongue sticking out and breathing heavily from the excitement. "Yay! Abby fownd 'notha Abby!" she cheered.

Another Abby? What did she meant by that?

_Woof! Woof!_

The dog barked as if it was also cheering with her. I guess I was thinking too much.

Both Monty and I laughed at this. Having two Abbies was probably going to be interesting.

"Jamie, it looks like Pippa, Cupcake, and Sophie aren't home yet," Monty noticed that no one but the dog was home.

"Guess, they're taking their time at the candy store," I thought. Sophie did wanted to go to the candy store this morning, so Pippa and Cupcake offered to go with her while Monty and I went to explore the forest. "They'll probably be home in a few minutes."

After that, I got Abby to take a bath and I borrowed some clothes from Sophie's closet for Abby to wear temporarily. Helping her take a bath and putting on her clothes wasn't that much trouble since I have to take care of Sophie a bunch of times. For her worn out and dirty clothes, I put them in a basket for mom to wash them later.

_Growl..._

I heard a growl from Abby's stomach when I was putting a shirt on her. The said girl touched her stomach and then looked up at me with sad eyes. "Abby hungwy."

"Alright. I'll whip something up in the kitchen. It is lunchtime," I told her.

As I brought Abby downstairs to the living room, I spotted Monty playing with my dog. I told him that I'll be making lunch, so I wanted him to look after both Abbies for awhile. Monty agreed, so I went into the kitchen to make some peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

I was grabbing the peanut butter jar and grape jam from the cabinets when I heard the doorbell rang.

_Ding Dong!_

_Woof! Woof! Woof!_

"I got it," I heard Monty shout from the living room. I could hear Abby (the dog) barking at the door like she always does when someone was at the door. Then I heard the front door opening and a girl's voice greeting my friend.

"Hey, Monty! We're back."

"Hey, Pippa. Hey, Cupcake," Monty greeted the girls. "And you too, Sophie."

"Candy!" Sophie cried out, showing her bag of candies to Monty.

I poked out of the kitchen and spotted my friends at the door, so I greeted them. "Welcome home, Sophie. So you guys want lunch? I'm making peanut butter and jelly."

Pippa was a tall skinny girl with short reddish brown hair and brown eyes. She's really nice and a lot of fun. Her, Monty, and I actually grew up with each other since we were kids, so we were pretty close.

Cupcake, on the other hand, was the big and tough looking girl with short brown hair and brown eyes. Even though she looked like she can beat up a boy easily, she's actually a nice person. She also loves unicorns and anything pink. We used to be afraid of her, but then it turned out that she was pretty cool.

"That sounds good!" Cupcake replied, her eyes shining with hunger.

"Sure!" agreed Pippa. That's when Pippa noticed that there was another person in the room. "Who's that girl?" She looked at Abby.

"That's Abby," Monty introduced her. "We found her in the forest."

"Hewo," Abby greeted them.

"In forest? What was she doing there?" Pippa asked, suspicious.

"Ooo!" Sophie exclaimed and ran up to Abby. "Hi! Candy?" She showed her bag of candies to her.

"Ooo! Yes, pwease," Abby thanked her and grabbed something from the bag of colorful candies.

Wow, they became friends pretty quickly. It was nice to see those two girls getting along fine so fast.

When I finished making the sandwiches for everybody, I called out to them from the living room. Everyone came into the kitchen and gathered at the table to eat. They began to grab a sandwich each and shove it into their mouths.

While I was gulping down my sandwich, I noticed that both the dog and girl Abby were messy eaters. Half of Abby's face (the girl) was already covered in peanut butter and jam, while Abby (the dog) was spilling all her dog food, which I prepared for her separately, all over the floor again! Were all Abby messy eaters?

After everyone was done eating and completely full, we all moved to the living room to hang out. Cupcake was flipping through the TV channels, looking for something to watch like _My Colorful Unicorns_ or _Princess Pink the 3rd_, while Pippa and Monty were watching Cupcake flip through the channels. Abby (the girl) and Sophie were running all over the place with Abby (the dog) chasing them. They were screaming and giggling as they ran into the kitchen while I was putting away the dishes.

_Woof! Woof!_

"Aaaaah!" screamed Abby, happily.

"Run! Run!" cried Sophie.

They were now running around the table, playing chase I guess. But while they were running, the dog almost knocked a chair over.

"Watch out!" I almost had a heart attack when I saw the chair wobbling from side to side. I almost ran to grab the chair, but luckily, it just wobbled back into place.

"Abby! Stop!" I ordered the greyhound.

But something unexpected which I should've expected happened. Both Abbies froze. Sophie on the other hand, didn't stop and bumped right behind the dog and fell on her butt.

"Uh... Sorry, Abby. I didn't mean you," I told the girl with the same name as my dog. Oh boy, this was getting _really_ troublesome. "I meant my dog."

"Oh," exclaimed Abby in realization.

Maybe I should start giving them each a code name or something so I can call them separately without this confusion. Just when I was trying to figure out how to solve this name problem, the doorbell rang again and this time with knockings as well.

_Ding Dong!_

_Knock! Knock!_

"Hey guys! You in there?"

"It's us! Claude and Caleb!"

Thought it was them. They always press the doorbell and knock the door at the same time. Normally, people would do one or the other at a time, but those two loved doing both.

This time, it was Pippa who went to get the door. When she opened up, two dark skin boys with black hair stood at the entrance. They looked almost exactly alike since they were twins after all, except one had his hair combed back and the other wore a red beanie over his head. At least, this way we can tell the difference between those two.

"Yeah, we're here. What's up?" She asked the two boys. "Wanna hang out with us? We're watching a movie about a wild horse and a native indian guy."

"No thanks, Pippa, but we got some exciting news!" Claude said excitedly.

"A new game store just opened in town!" announced Caleb, eyes beaming with excitement. "Wanna go check it out?"

A new game store?! That's totally awesome!

After hearing the word 'game store,' everyone was in. We were all excited to go. How can we not? I wonder if they will have the new Star Blaster II that just came out two weeks ago.

While we were all about to leave, I remembered that we still have Abby , Sophie, and my dog. Since nobody was going to be home, I decided to bring the two girls too. I can't have two little girls home alone, right? My dog will stay at home, but she'll be in the yard. Who knows what chaos she can make in house while we're gone. I quickly got Sophie into her shoe and got my dog outside while Abby put on her own shoe on. She seemed to know how to put on her own shoes, but...

"Abby, you got your left and right shoe switched," I told her.

Abby looked down at her shoes that were on the wrong foot. "Oh... Oopsie."

I chuckled a little before helping her out. For some reason, it felt like I have another little sister to take care of.

* * *

**~Abby's Side~**

The town of Burgess was peaceful as always. Since the weather was a fine sunny day, there were people walking down the sidewalk, doing their business. There were few cars driving on the road, so it wasn't as noisy.

The Burgess kids and Abby were walking down the sidewalk towards the game shop that was just opened today. They were all talking excitedly to one another about some games they were playing and what games were coming out. The two little girls, Abby and Sophie, were holding on each other's hand as they skipped and laughed together behind the group.

While the older kids were busy talking among themselves, they didn't notice that something odd was lurking in the shadows. The two younger ones, however, did.

_Thud!_

Abby and Sophie were just passing an alley when they heard something fell. Both heads turned to where the sound came from and saw a pile of boxes stacked inside the alley. The alley wasn't dark, but nor was it clear and bright. It seemed the sound came from a box that fell over.

Normally, people would just ignore something like this and blame the wind. But for Abby, she just stood there out of curiosity. Unlike other people, Abby had the knack to sense that some things weren't as normal as people believe. After what she went through, she can sense that something dark was lurking in the shadows of the alley.

_Swoosh!_

A figure moved by quickly as the wind. Even though Abby couldn't make out what it was, but she was sure that, whatever it was, wasn't human.

Sophie also could sense that something was there too. After seeing that figure, she jumped in surprise and hid behind Abby nervously. She started to shake in fear as something was appearing from the darkness.

Both Abby and Sophie stood there as a large four legged creature stepped out towards them. It's body was a skeleton of a wolf with dark grey smog flowing out of it's fleshless body. It's eyes glowed bright with fire burning at them like prey.

_Growl_

Then two more figures stepped out of the shadow and stood close to the first wolf. Now they were three of them.

The creatures slowly walked up towards them as the two girls froze on the spot in horror. Every step the dark creature took, the closer it was getting to the girls.

Flames started to flash out of their mouth like wolves salivating before they attack their helpless preys.

But before the smog wolves could make another move, something came shooting out of Abby's hood and towards the smog creatures. A ball of fire went zooming around the smog wolves, causing them to back off in confusion.

The little fireball was distracting the smog creatures as best as possible. Seeing that the wisp that was hiding all this time was trying to save her and Sophie, Abby quickly grabbed her friend's hand and ran for her life.

* * *

Thank you for reading. Please comment or leave feedback or suggestions.

Derp :B We now have 2 Abbies and 2 Jacks. Writer is now seeing double.

**Thank you RainSonata for looking through it and editing some parts for me.**

For Guest from ch. 20,

I admit I was a little steamed up (okay, maybe not that little) when I wrote that response to you. I was already going through some stressful stuff in real life and the "If you really bothered to do your research..." hit my nerve and set me off. But "someone is quite childish in their response" and "child ranting"? Seriously? Do you have to belittle me? I responded to your comment believing that you just didn't know how much I work hard on this fanfic and gave you reasons why I don't believe the novel and movie connect even with 200 years apart, but you responded back with "someone is quite childish in their response". I really don't appreciate that kind of treatment.

I already knew that the books took place 200 years before the movie waaaay before you told me. My friend told me about the 200 years gap when I was in the beginning stages of planning my plot for this fanfic. I also knew that William Joyce wrote the books as a prequel to the movie. But during the movie was showing, I didn't know that there were books at all. It was only after I watched the movie that I did the research and I found out that there were novels for ROTG.

I still believe that the book and movie plots don't connect on some level, but I still do try to find stuff that can be used without having loopholes. Like I said before, if the stuff in the book aren't mentioned or used in the movie, I would avoid touching them unless it doesn't cause loophole problems.

I wish they would make a sequel to ROTG so they can add more stuff from the books so I can play around with in my fanfic. Especially, Mother Nature. Unfortunately, there hasn't been any sign that Dreamworks would make a 2nd movie because of the Boxoffice so the chances of a sequel is very bleak right now.

Also, I would love to end our negative discussions before it runs out of control. Since it was my fault for getting heat up over a comment in the first place, I'm going to end it here.


	24. Chapter 22 The Omen Before The Storm

**Disclaimer: I do not own the ROTG universe or its original characters. This story is written within the ROTG universe. The rest of the characters belong to me.**

**Oh god, it's been busy for me this month. Barely any time to write. My aunt made me help her with preparing for her daughter's birthday party and I have to look for an apartment to move out. Two more weeks before school starts so I have to rush things a bit.**

* * *

**Chapter 22: The Omen Before The Storm**

**~Jamie's POV~**

"Hey guys! Where're Abby and Sophie?!" I called to my friends. I turned around to see our group suddenly shrink in size. I can't believe I lost them! I scratched my head in worry. That wasn't good. They could barely talk in full sentences. Did they get lost? I mentally counted the heads in our group and realized that we were short of two people.

"Where'd they go?" wondered Pippa.

"I thought they were right behind us," said Monty, looking behind.

"Hey! They're over there," Caleb pointed in the distance behind him. Just like what he said, Abby and Sophie were running towards us.

I thought they were running to catch up, but I noticed something was wrong. The look on their faces was strange. They looked scared. One was trembling, not from the cold icy temperature since it was sunny and warm today. The other was whimpering a few words I didn't understand. Sophie's hair was messy and all over the place. I could barely see her frightened eyes behind the curtain of hair. When the girls came running to us, I was thinking of asking for some explanations, but...

_Swoosh!_

"Wun away!" Abby screamed as she ran passed us while holding onto Sophie.

"What? Hey!" I cried out. What the heck was going on?

"Bad doggies!" Abby screamed back at us.

"Huh?" We all exclaimed, confused. We looked at each other for a second, unsure what to think. Then we all turned at the direction they came from and... What the...!?

_Aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh!_

Is that a screaming ball of fire!? How was that supposed to work? I stared at the flaming ball in amazement, almost distracted by how odd it was until my friends' screams brought me back to my senses.

"What on earth is that!?" Pippa shrieked, pointing at something behind the screaming fireball.

What the...?! Are those wolves?... Holy cow! They're skeletons! With smoke all over their bodies! It was like a science horror film they used to show on TV sometimes late at night.

"Oh my god! Their eyes are on fire!" screamed Monty.

And that too.

"RUN!" There was no need to tell my friends twice. We ran like hell. On instinct, I swooped over and grabbed Abbey and my sister for each arm. My sister clung onto my arm like it was her lifeline and shrilled along with Abbey into both of my ears. The twins also ran but tripped over a can on the floor and crashed. Cupcake and Pippy had to rescue them and tug them on the arm while getting away from those skeleton thingies. I screamed and we all dashed away from them like we were being chased by hellhounds. Okay, maybe literary running away from possible hellhounds. No time to check that theory. We ran through the streets like our lives depended on it. The smoky wolves, or whatever they were, were chasing right behind us.

_Aaaaaaahhhhhhhh!_

That screaming fireball was flying right between us as well. I could feel the heat blazing at our already sweaty bodies from the running. I was so happy to see that it didn't go faster. As we ran through the streets, I ignored the weird looks the grown ups gave us. They probably thought we were just playing tag or something. They didn't seem to notice that giant ball of fire was chasing us. No one was pointing out the weird thing. My friends soon figured out that screaming was wasting energy and just ran. My sister and the younger girl were getting heavy where Monty had to carry Abbey for me half way through the run.

When I get home, I'll look it up what that thing was in my Book of Monsters around the Globe. But right now, the only thing I can think about was... RUN!

_Aawwoooooo!_

The wolves howled behind us. The distance between us and them were getting shorter and shorter. They were going to catch up to us at any second! I was too tired to turn around and see the monsters chasing us. I could hear Cupcake losing her breath and heard her shoes squeak when she started to slow down. I saw Monty shake his head quickly at her and tried to pull her up with a wide eyed look of worry.

"All we wanted was to see the new game store! Why do we have to get chased by demon wolves!?" cried Caleb.

"This way!" shouted Claude, ignoring his brother's complaint. He turned at the corner of the street, so we followed right behind him.

Everyone made the turn as he told us and found ourselves at the ice-cream store. In front of the store, there was this gumball machine standing right next to the entrance. Suddenly, Cupcake went and pushed the gum ball machine onto the ground. The scattered gum-balls rolled all over the floor and onto the streets. The store wasn't crowded because of the weather, but there were still lots of people turning their attention to the tumbling red globe falling to the ground. People jerked at the sound of the globe's glass clashing against the hard floor with broken glass flying everywhere. I didn't pay attention to the owner crying out loud at the cost of the machine. A janitor rushed out of the closet and glared at us. I quickly covered my sister's ears when the old janitor started shouting colorful choice of words. The janitor chased us kids with a mop in hand and said some things I shouldn't say in front of my parents.

"Sorry!" I cried out loudly to both the janitor and the store owner, feeling guilty about the gumball machine.

When the wolves appeared at the corner, they slipped on the gum balls on the floor and fell over one after the other. They tried to get up, but they kept tripping again on another gumball and ended up falling onto each other. One wolf fell down and made the one next to it fall as well. The confusion among the pack gave us some time to run off. Even though, it would've been fun to stay and watch them tripping like that for awhile, I didn't want to stick around when they do managed to get themselves out of that situation. It seemed that I wasn't the only person thinking that, because everyone else was still running. After we lost the wolves in front of that ice cream store, we ran for awhile until we finally took a breather behind a large truck.

"Did we... lose... them?" asked Pippa, breathing hard from all the running.

"I think... so," I breathed, catching my breath.

"Oh man... what were those things?" wondered Caleb, sitting down on the ground from exhaustion.

"Do you think maybe..." Claude trailed off as he started to look nervous at the thought at what they could be.

"I don't think they were Nightmares," I told them. "Remember the time when we fought Pitch Black and his Nightmares with the Guardians. The Nightmare were kinda like horse made of black sand. Those wolves were... different. They were more smoky."

"If they're not Nightmares, then what are they?" Demanded Cupcake, breathing hard.

"I don't know," I answered honestly. I still don't have any idea of what they were, but I did pretty much found out first hand that they weren't friendly animals like in those princess fairy tale stories.

"Waaaaaahhhhhhh!" Suddenly, Sophie cried out loudly. I can tell that she was seriously scared right now. "Mama! Waaaaaahhhhh!"

"Sophie, ssssshhhhhhh," I gently grabbed her shoulders as I tried to hush her to calm down. "It's alright. Everything's going to be fine. They're not going to come and get us anymore."

Abby was also standing beside her with teary eyes. Like Sophie, she was also scared, but she seemed to be holding it in better than Sophie. She rubbed her tears with her sleeve and sniffed a few times.

"Come here, Abby" I pulled both her and Sophie into a hug in assurance. "Don't worry. I promise I'll protect you two, okay? I won't let anything hurt you, so no need to be afraid anymore."

"Abby won'...*sniff*... be afwaid... *sniff*... Abby pwomise pumpkin...*sniff*," Abby was able to speak out through all that sniffing. "Abby mus' be bwave for pumpkin."

Promise?

That kinda caught my interest a bit since it's an unusual promise, but also not unheard of. Who was this pumpkin she promised to?

_Bi?_

"Huh?" What was that? I looked up out of reflex and... "Aaaahhhhh!"

It's the screaming fireball!...Except, it's not screaming.

_Aaaaaahhhhhhh!_

Okay, never mind.

I jumped in shock as the floating flame thingy went and hid behind Abby.

"Oh geez! What now?" called Claude, the dark skin boy stared at me, confused. His cry made the other guys looked back at us, wondering what was going on now.

"There's a floating fire thingy!" I pointed to Abby. When everyone stared at Abby, the fireball poked its head out from behind her back.

"Woah! Another one?!" cried Claude. Everyone, except Abby and Sophie, hid behind Cupcake, who didn't look like she was appreciating us using her as a wall. I can tell from her face that she was half annoyed and half tired from this.

"Why's everyone hiding behind me?" she demanded in annoyed tone.

" 'Cause your the bigg... I mean toughest looking one out of all of us," replied Claude. He quickly caught his mistake when he noticed Cupcake giving him a warning look. Then I notice that Abby didn't seem to be afraid of that fireball that was behind her at all. Actually, she seemed to be really calm with it.

"Pwetty wight's okay!" she cried out happily.

"What?" All of us older kids blurted out of surprise.

"Oooooo! Pwetty!" said Sophie, also looking unafraid of that fire. Okay... Are we missing something here?

"Abby, you know that fireball?" I asked, feeling a little calmer now.

"Uh huh," she nodded. "It's pumpkin's pwetty wights!"

Um... I still don't think I get it. Trying to make sense of a two or three year old wasn't easy.

Then Abby held the little fire in her palms and showed it to us to look at it closer. "Say hi, pwetty wights," she told the fire.

_Hi_

It spoke! But that sounded like a 'hee' than a 'hi.' The sound was high pitch like one of those talking mice in cartoons. I was still a little skeptic about it since I wasn't sure if the thing was harmless or not. The fireball seemed to notice my doubtful look on my face and chattered with a bunch of noises I couldn't understand. I guess it can't really talk, but it seemed that it can understand us.

"Now that you look at it closely, it's not that scary," said Monty, pushing his glasses to see it better. "Doesn't it burn your hand?" he asked, curiously.

"No," Abby answered.

So everyone was starting to swarm around the little flame.

"Can I touch it?"

"Wow! It's not even hot! It's more like warm."

"Hey! Don't shove!"

"_You_ don't shove!"

It was weird to see our group go from fearing the fire to suddenly wanting to fight for its attention. While Pippa and Cupcake were trying to pet the fire, Caleb and Claude were shoving at each other already. Monty was observing from the side out of curiosity. It was nice seeing the mood changed so fast from a few moments. The fire also seemed to be enjoying the attention and was purring like a cat as it rubbed itself around the girl's fingers. I guess I have to admit it was kinda cute in its own way.

But I wondered, what were those wolves? Where did they come from? I wonder if Jack Frost and the other Guardians would know anything.

_Grrrrr_

Suddenly, I heard a growl from behind me. Actually, no, from above me. I froze out of horror. Everyone else also froze as well. Since I had my back towards the truck, there was only one possible direction the sound was coming form. We all looked behind me and lifted our heads towards the top of the truck. There, standing with eyes burning with fire and smoke slithering out of its skeletal body, was the wolf that was chasing us before. While I was going to shout for us to run, more growling came from both sides.

_Grrrrr_

The other two wolves were appeared on each side, blocking our only escape route and preventing us from running away. There was also a wall behind us, so there was no way we can run. We were trapped! Out of fear, we started to move backwards and crowded together. I pushed Abby and Sophie into the center, trying to protect the girls from the danger as much as possible. The wolf on the truck jumped down and joined its friends on the ground. The wolves came closer and closer to us as we were pushed back into the wall. Just when I thought we were about to get pounced by these demonic wolves, a flash of blue light came flashing before us.

_Zap!_

I suddenly felt a gust of cold air blasted my face. I covered my eyes to protect them from the cold wind and flashing light. I could hear the wolves crying out in surprise. When I opened my eyes, I saw the pavement and the side of the truck frozen with ice.

"Get away from them!" A shout came from the sky and when I looked up, a figure came falling down and stood before us. I recognized that snow white hair, blue hooded sweater, and that wooden hooked staff anywhere.

"Jack Frost!" I gasped in excitement.

"You guys stay back! I'll deal with them," Jack ordered us.

There was only two wolves now. The other one must've gotten blasted by Jack's ice blast a second ago. The two wolves growled angrily at the Jack for destroying one of theirs. Then they both jumped at him with their claws and fangs bared.

Of course, Jack quickly swung his staff and knocked one of them to the side while he side kicked the other one.

The wolves got thrown onto the pavement hard, but they still managed to get up and came dashing at Jack again.

Jack's staff started to glow light blue and when Jack slammed his staff at one of the wolf, it blew up in flashes of light and bursted into ashes and snow. The next wolf came at him from the side, but Jack just flew into the air to dodge the beast. The wolf missed him by inches! Then Jack also blasted the last wolf with his ice powers and _Poof!_ The wolf turned into ashes and snow, too. The fight was over in just a few minutes.

"Jack!" We all cheered as we ran up to him.

"Whoa! Guys! Wait a moment... Ah!"

Too late. We all slammed into him and we all fell onto the ground, laughing and hugging the guardian of fun.

"Jack, we missed you so much!"

"Where've you been?"

"Can you give us another snow day?"

"Jack!"

"Get off of me first before I answer your questions! I can't breathe!" cried Jack.

We all immediately got off of him, so the snow spirit can get up and catch his breath.

"Sorry," I apologized. "We got kinda carried away."

"Nobody was hurt, right?" he asked worriedly.

"No. Just a little freaked out from getting chased by _demon wolves!_" replied Claude, spreading out his hands to make a point.

"And all we wanted was to go the new game store!" cried Caleb.

"Game store?" Jack gave them a questioning look.

"It's nothing. Anyway, do you know what those things were?" I asked, right to the important question.

"Yeah, their called Smogs. They're a new type of enemy that the guardians and I have been dealing with not long ago," he explained.

"What does this mean?" asked Pippa, looking nervous.

"Has Pitch Black returned?" Monty asked, even more nervous than Pippa.

"And Nightmares?" added Cupcake, her face turning dark when she mentioned them.

"Slow down, guys. I can't keep up with your questions! One question at a time," Jack told us, scratching his head.

Then from behind us, I heard someone crying out cheerfully.

"Snowfwake!" It was Abby that cried out, but 'snowflake'?

"Abby!?" Jack's eyes grew inshocked when he saw Abby running towards him and gave him a hug. The little girl squealed happily from seeing Jack while everyone else were sharing the same confused look as me.

The little fire was also chattering excitedly upon seeing the snow spirit and flew up to him. The flame flew around Jack a few times before stopping to continue talking.

Wait a minute... Do they know each other?

"Abby, what are you doing here?" demanded Jack, looking dumbfounded. "And Lantern's wisp is with you?" Looking more and more dumbfounded by the second.

"Abby miss snowfwake," cried Abby, hugging his legs tightly. "Abby's been trwying my bwest to be bwave for Pumpkin. I miss Pumpkin. Waaaaaahhhhhhhh!" And then she started to cry out loudly as tears were streaming down her eyes.

"What?! Uh... Wait! Don't cry! Uh... here," Jack picked her up and patted her on the back, trying to calm her down. "Come on, Abby. Stop crying. It's alright now."

The little fire also seemed to be trying to help calm the crying girl down, too. It was blabbering something that I didn't understand to her, but it seemed like it was telling her to stop crying.

"Um... Jack?" I called him. "Do you know these two?"

"Yeah, I'll explain later. Let's get you kids back home first where it's safer right now," Jack told us.

He smiled at our group, but there was something off. His smile looked forced and his eyes looked sad for some reason.

My friends and I looked at each other and had this silent agreement that it was probably a good idea to get home, so we turned back to Jack and nodded.

Except for one person, that is.

"What about the game store?" demanded Caleb.

"Quit it!" snapped Cupcake, annoyed. "Can't you just stop talking about the game store! This isn't the time for that!"

So Caleb went silent and crossed his arms with a very unhappy look on his face.

* * *

On the way home, Jack was carrying Abby, who was now asleep, on his back. I was also in the same position as him, because Sophie fell asleep from exhaustion and I was carrying her on my back. The girls snored quietly as we walked back home. Jack also told us about latest news on what's been going on with the guardians and Pitch Black.

He helped explain that Abby came from a city called Blacksburg and it's somewhere in Virginia. Her brother was a fire spirit name Jack O. Lanternson, or _Lantern_ which Jack calls him to not get themselves confused. I also began to figure out who Pumpkin was when Abby mentioned him, too. Lantern was also the spirit of fall and Halloween. He was friends with Jack and the other Guardians as well, but Pitch managed to trick him to do his bidding by using Abby as a hostage, but somehow Abby was able to escape since she's right here with us now. The only thing we were able to get out of her was that a horse helped her, which we still don't understand what she meant.

And just when I thought Pitch kidnapping Abby was already horrible enough, Pitch went and messed with Lantern's memory to turn him into an evil spirit called Cinder. Now the evil spirit had no memories of being Jack O'Lantern and even hated the Guardians as well. Then there was those Smogs that were also Cinder's minions like how Nightmares were Pitch's.

"And this wisp here belongs to Lantern. It's one of his pals he created with his powers," explained Jack, looking at the wisp that was floating next to him.

"Wisp? So that's what it's called," I stared at the little flame, curiously. "So are there more of it?"

"They were tons of its kind," Jack answered with this sad tone in his voice. "But I haven't seen them for awhile. Especially, when Cinder appeared, I haven't seen any traces of them at all. Something must've happened to them. I would love to know what happened with Lantern when Pitch was controlling him, but unfortunately, I don't speak Wispinese."

"So does that mean Pitch has become powerful again?" asked Pippa, looking slightly afraid.

"Probably, since he now has a henchman to help spread fear even faster," answered Frost, darkly.

The other kids and I looked at each other worriedly. This wasn't good news at all. Not only do we have to defend ourselves against Pitch, but his new ally, Cinder. It's not like I could tell my mom about this and hope that she could do anything about it. My mom and my friends' parents can't see them. Not even the police. What kind of grown up would take us seriously if we came to them and told them this? They would just tell us that our imagination went too far and tell us to run off and play. I can't even tell some of the kids in class because some of them stopped believing in Santa and the Easter Bunny. They would laugh at me when I started talking about Jack Frost like he was a real person. Those kids treated me like I was, what was that word they called me? Immature...

"Then what should we do?" I asked, hoping to find out if we can be of any help.

"Just do what you did last time. Don't be afraid," he told us with an assuring smile across his face.

"And what about Lantern? Will he be able to turn back to normal?" I asked again. It didn't seem like Abby has realized it yet that her own brother was now evil. Just the thought that when Abby finds out about her brother's circumstances was really heartbreaking, even for me.

"Well, we don't know yet," replied Jack, unsure himself. "But I still believe that we can still bring back the old Lantern."

I watched him as he said that and I can tell that even he wasn't very sure, but I can see the strong determination in his eyes that he won't give up until he returns the fire spirit to normal again. For me, I can only hope that one day, the fire spirit really does return to the good side and back to the brother that Abby love so dear.

* * *

**~Cinder's POV~**

"I'm back!" I called out loudly so my voice would echo all over the dark underground fortress. I really love playing with the echoes here.

I landed close to the platform where the globe stood and where Pitch seemed to love to hang out at lately. I wonder what new scheme he was cooking up for the guardians. It would be awesome if it involved scaring the crap out of little brats and crushing those so-called guardian of children. After that little trip to that annoyingly peaceful town and listening to some weird man's spouting about his sappy past, I felt really irritated and wanted to burn something.

"Welcome back, my little dark prince. Enjoyed your little break?" Pitched asked, even though he didn't really care what kind of answer I would give him anyways.

"Not as much fun as I wanted. Though in the beginning, I did scare some teenagers, but ran into some sappy dude and he killed my mood," I answered with an annoyed tone. Then I spotted some Nightmares standing nearby, waiting for their master's orders. "Hey, Pitch. Can I borrow some of your ponies? I want to burn something right now." I stared at the Nightmares eagerly.

The Nightmares seemed to have sensed my attentions and tried to move away from me, nervously. What? Even if I destroy five or ten of you, it's not like you guys die or anything. Pitch can just bring you back with a flick of his fingers! Just let me burn the crap out of you guys already! I need to release my frustration!

"Oh don't worry. If you want to release some energy in a fight, it'll be very soon," Pitch said with a gleeful tone.

"Seriously? When?" I demanded, excitedly.

Then I could hear the Nightmares sighing when my attention got caught by Pitch's words. Oh don't worry, I'll burn the crap out of you guys some other time.

"How's now sound to you?" Pitched sneered as he looked at me with those evil eyes.

"SWEET! Hell yeah!" I cried out loudly. "Finally! Another battle! Where are we going this time? Where are we fighting the guardians?"

"Calm down, Cinder," he told me. Even though he told me to calm down, I can tell by that grin on his face that he appreciated my enthusiasm. "The final battle with the guardians will be in a place where they know well. It's a place where one of the guardians call home."

"North Pole? Tooth Palace? The Warden?" I called out the places that came to mind.

"Oh no, it's a place where I had my last major battle with the guardians and it ended in my humiliating defeat. _Burgess_," Pitch finally answered.

"Burgess?" I stared at Pitch, confused. Don't think I've ever been there. "Why there?"

"Well, it's the home of someone you know and despise, Jack Frost," Pitch explained.

Then he created figures in the palms of his hands with his black sand. It looked like a figure of some kid. A boy, I think.

"And there are some pesky brats that I want to deal with. If it wasn't for them, I would've destroyed the guardians a long time ago and not suffer such embarrassment. I'll make them pay for interfering with me and make them regret for not fearing me."

Then he crushed the figure with his hand, clearly showing that he really meant business. Whoever pissed off Pitch that time was so gonna get it now. I couldn't even help snickering at the thought of what would happen to the unlucky victims.

"Let's go, Cinder. It's time to end the era of those Guardians and build a new era of fear and darkness," he called to me.

Music to my ears.

* * *

Thank you for reading. Please comment or leave feedback or suggestions.

Oh ho ho, the battle is starting soon. Will the Guardians be able to prevent Pitch from spreading his fear? Will they be able to protect the kids? Will they be able to bring Lantern back to his senses? Will Caleb ever be able to go to the game store like he wanted?(Hint: Nope) Stay tune for next chapter!

**Thank you RainSonata for looking through it and editing some parts for me.**

Where is this hint of a sequel?! I want to see! I've been searching like crazy for any sign of a sequel! It's doesn't look like it's gonna be 2015 or 2016 since all their spots got taken already. Where is this light of hope in this dark unsure future?!


	25. Chapter 23 Ride Towards the Final Battle

**Disclaimer: I do not own the ROTG universe or its original characters. This story is written within the ROTG universe. The rest of the characters belong to me.**

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**Chapter 23: Ride Towards the Final Battle**

**~Pitch's POV~**

It was time.

Our time to finally head to our fated battle with the Guardians. Years of being powerless, humiliated, and ignored will finally end and those wretched Guardians will be no more. I have been carefully planning for this day to get my revenge. Now everything has fallen into place and I even have my own ally to fight by my side in this battle. The town I chose for the attack would be the same place from last year. The sweet irony to see my former acquaintances fall in the very same place I was before. Victory shall be mine. Oh the thrill of tasting my enemies' defeat.

I stood facing the globe like was I observing the lights, but currently, my attention was at an object in my hand. What once was a shiny golden cylinder container that held teeth of a child was now nothing more than a dented container covered with clumps of black sand like a dirty old artifact that was dug out after centuries living in the earth. Broken like the memories of the owner of this container.

"You ready yet, Pitch?" I heard Cinder calling behind me, half demanding and half questioning tone.

I quickly put the container into my black robe before I turned to face the boy. I was glad to see eager eyes looking back at me. I can tell he was also as thrilled as me to fight those guardians. If he was his former self, he might have been sharing a look of disgust at what was planned for his "friends". What he was doing right now was wearing a wide grin with all his teeth shown. Wide eyed with excitement and practically glowing like a lit up pumpkin on Halloween night with promises of tricks and horror.

"My fire are itching to burn something here!" complained the boy, getting reckless.

"Alright, my little impatient imp," I smirked a the boy. "It's time for us to depart."

Then I called out to my dark minions with a loud and powerful voice that echoed throughout my underground fortress. "Nightmares! It is time! Rise!"

"It's time to have some fun! Now come out my smog monsters!" Cinder yelled out and stabbed the lantern pole on the ground hard.

Black figures of horses begun to rise from the dark shadows and flew around Cinder and I like a black cyclone. Smog like creatures also flew out from Cinder's lantern and joined the Nightmares. The cries of the dark beasts echoed around me and Cinder. My black sand beasts and Cinder's smog demons combined together to make the perfect dark army. Their speed and movement was creating a gust of wind, whipping our clothes and hair wildly. The creatures stood so close to each other that it was hard to recognize their individual shapes. It was good to say that this was even a human adult's worse nightmare, for it was natural for humans to fear the dark and the unknown. A Nightmare came to my side and I immediately got on it. I rode towards the ceiling above with Cinder flying close by, heading towards the tunnel that lead to the surface, with our dark army following behind us.

* * *

**~Frost's POV~**

_Boom!_

I watched the sky as it was turning dark and black clouds began to cover the horizon. Lightnings were flashing in the skies as the sound of thunder can be heard a few seconds later. The wind was already picking up speed. It wasn't even evening yet and already it looked like it was night time.

Although the winds normally delivered good news around this time of year, today was different. The winds' voices grew harsh and low, as if angry at something. Something was off. It was too cold for this time of season. Birds were supposed to be flocking back north around this time, but the sky was completely empty thanks to the unnatural weather.

To normal people, it would probably look like a storm was brewing, but to me, I can sense that it was more than that. This heavy and ominous feeling was warning me that something was coming.

And that something was Pitch.

I stood watch from the roof of Jamie's house where all the kids were currently hiding out. I stood in the middle of their living room earlier. Already used to the fact that most adults couldn't see me, I didn't flinch when Jamie's mother opened the door, only to be shocked to find several children in her house with frighten looks. While the twins begged Jamie's mother to let them and the others stay at the house for at least most of the day, I quietly flew to Jamie's room and escaped through the window. Jamie turned his head to give me a questioning look, but I gestured a 'be quiet' and watched his expression drop again when he realized I had to go. Knowing Pitch, he'll probably attack these kids because they did help me and the guardians in the last battle we had here. I needed to warn the other guardians that Burgess was once again under attack.

Immediately, I pulled out a small red pouch from my sweater's pocket. It was smaller than the palm of my hands, but held some tiny weight to keep from blowing away. I opened the small bag and poured the content into my hand. Sparkly golden sand came pouring out of the pouch. It was some of Sandy's dream sand. Even though the sand was given to me hours ago, it was still warm from the dreams that it produced. It was silky to the touch and flowed gently into my hand.

Sandy's sand can work in many ways and one of them was to send a message. I gently blew the sand from my hand and into the air. The sand scattered at first, but then began to come together and form an origami bird the size of my palms. It was floating in the air with some small flap of its wings.

"Tell the guardians that I need their help in Burgess," I told the golden paper bird. Once the paper bird got my message, it quickly flew into the air while battling the wind to stay on course to its destination. I can only hope that the message will be sent in time before Pitch and his army attack.

"Jack!" Then I heard my name being called from below. I looked down and saw Jamie at the front porch. It looked like he wanted to talk to me, so I jumped down from the roof towards him.

"You need something?" I asked.

"Is something happening again?" he asked, worriedly. "The weather doesn't look right. It's like something really bad is about to happen."

"I'll be lying if I said no," I replied with a dark tone. "I need you and the kids to stay inside no matter what. It's not going to be safe outside for awhile."

"What about you?" He looked at me with a worried look in his eyes.

"I'll be fine," I assured. Even I wasn't sure myself. I turned my head slightly away from Jamie, not wanting to see his sad face. "We beat Pitch once before and we'll beat him again. We'll also get Lantern back or my name isn't Jack Frost!"

Even after I said that, Jamie still looked worried, but he finally nodded. "Alright, I _believe_ in you." Then he went back inside the house to tell the others of the situation. Those words were more than enough for me. The feeling to be believed in like this gave me more strength and determination to defeat Pitch. I'll put my all in protecting these kids and getting Lantern back.

_Hiiiiiii!_

Suddenly, I could hear the cries of horses echoing in the distance. They were coming. I quickly turned around and stared into the dark sky, scanning for any signs of the dark creatures. Even though I didn't see anything with all this darkness, I can feel the evilness coming towards this town. I immediately shot into the air and flew towards the thunderous sky.

* * *

**~Cinder's POV~**

We finally flew over a town with these millions of lights that could've rivaled the globe back home down below us. All those lights and so many people to prey on. It was going to be one hell of a fun evening for me. I could feel all that energy radiating from the very lights the shadows were consuming. We were flying beneath the dark clouds that covered the whole sky in darkness. Pitch's powers were so strong that even the weather was effected by it. Just flying next to him, I can feel the dark and evilness coming from the guy. It's hard to explain, but you could understand that there was an angry aura from him. Something was going to die and he would make sure of it if you weren't going to cooperate.

Damn! Wished I was as strong as him.

A human would cringe and stand back from him. I, however, felt some envy being next to him. To pull off giving an aura like that would be a feat for me. There was a reason why his nightmares only listened to him. They fear him. Fear was what makes the world go round. We dark spirits didn't even have to take part in the world for that to happen, the humans already did it to themselves.

I flew next to Pitch, who was riding on his Nightmare, at the front with our dark army behind us. I can hear their eager cries as they ran through the skies like a large black cloud. Horses of black sand and skeleton monsters made of smoke. Can't find any army as bizarre as this.

"We're almost there," Pitch announced to me.

"Music to my ears," I said to no one particularly. Mostly to myself. I could feel a sneer growing on my face from my excitement. "So our target are some kids from that town, right?" I loudly asked, "Why them? They're just kids. Why not attack those kids from that place?" I pointed to another area of the city.

"We've been through this," he kept a calm voice, although his eyes narrowed at the question I have been asking him for some time. "Those kids are a menace to us and they're _friends_ with the guardians. Getting rid of them will definitely be a blow to the guardians," explained Pitch. "And it will also satisfy one part of my revenge."

"Must be some tough kids to give you a hard time," I thought loudly. "They even made it into your hate list. Definitely worth checking them out."

"Oh you'll definitely get to check them out. You can even go all out and have fun with them," Pitch smirked at me as he said that.

"Sweet!" I cried eagerly at the idea of scaring those kids until they will be shivering under their blankets for the next ten years. Hell! I add another ten if I wanted to come back and scare the crap out of them again.

Suddenly, out of nowhere...

_Zap! Boom!_

_Hiiiiiiii!_

Holy Pitch! What was that!?

A flash of blue light came shooting out of nowhere and blew up some of the Nightmares and Smogs behind me.

"Not when I'm around," I heard a voice from above.

I recognized that annoying voice anywhere. When I looked up and saw the white hair and blue sweater, it confirmed my hunch.

Jack Frost

The snow spirit was hovering in the air above us and glaring at us with hostile gaze. He was definitely not happy to see us, but it was the opposite for me. I was very eager to meet him again. I was looking forward to kicking his ass.

"He's mine," I told Pitch before shooting upward at the white hair spirit.

I called out more than half a dozen smog creatures of different kind like wolves, vultures, bulls, and large snakes and sent them going after the snow spirit. While Frostie was busy blasting my smogs with his ice powers and dodging some of them, I also sent several fireballs after him.

_Boom! Boom!_

Bull's eye!

He got hit twice, blowing him back and backflipping in the air a few times. When he managed to balanced himself again, I quickly sent a huge flamethrower towards him. There was no way I was going to let him rest for second.

Seeing my attack coming his way, Jack immediately sent out a burst of ice energy at my fire attack, causing a huge explosion in the air.

_Boom!_

While there were mists blowing everywhere, I shot into it and headed straight towards Jack like an arrow. Even though I can't see, it doesn't mean I don't know where he was hovering originally. So when I came out of the mist, I found Jack staring with wide eyes at me in shock. I bet he didn't expect me coming in like this.

I conjured up fire around my fist and sent it punching into Jack's stomach, causing a nice internal and external injuries. Talk about a good pain in the ass combination.

"Argh!" Jack cried out in pain. He clutched his stomach out of instinct, causing his defense to be lowered.

Immediately, I side kicked him when he didn't even realize it and sent him flying to the side. This was too easy. The snow spirit was weak and probably lost some of his powers due to Pitch influencing fear into children. Beating Jack was going to be a piece of cake.

It looked like Jack was dazed from my kicked earlier, so I quickly shot towards him again and swung my lantern pole in his direction. I was hoping to give him a good whack in the head with a metal bar, but Jack was able to sense my next attack in time and...

_Clank!_

He had his staff raised in defense, blocking my attack. His staff and my lantern pole slammed into each other hard. I tried to push down at him, but Jack was able to stand his ground... or air... something. You get the idea.

"Lantern!... I mean, Cinder! Listen to me," begged Jack, staring at me with these pleading eyes.

"Why should I listen to you?" I demanded.

"Because I know you! You were never like this!" He said while still holding his stance. "You weren't evil like this!" His voice cracked as he winced in pain of a burn I inflicted on him.

"The hell are you talking about? I've always been like this," I argued. Then while I was still trying to push down my lantern pole, I conjured some snake smogs from my lantern and have them slithered towards Jack.

The snake smogs were about to sink their fangs into Jack's arms, but Jack quickly flew back to dodge their fangs.

"You have to believe me! Pitch is lying to you! He stole your teeth and messed with your memory," he kept blabbering nonsense at me. "He's only using you to get more powerful!"

Then the snake quickly went after Jack. They slithered through the air like they were swimming in water.

"Shut up, Frostbite! Pitch has always been looking after me. There's no way he'll lie to me!" I argued back at him. I was getting fed up with his lies. "He was the first thing I saw when I came to existence! He trained me and cared for me! I am what I am today thanks to him! I am his creation! I am perfection!" I let out a loud laugh and shot a ball of flames at him. He skillfully tilt to the left on a second's notice and narrowly avoided getting his face turned to cinders. Ha, that's a good one. Should tell that to Pitch one day.

"That's what he wants you to think!" He quickly shot several ice blast and obliterated my snake smogs. "Because he's controlling your memories with your teeth! We used to be friends. We were always hanging out with each other and having fun."

"Just shut your trap already! There's no way I could be friends with you! If you're going to come up with a lie, you could've done better than that!" I snapped. I was seriously getting very annoyed at his persistence with his lies. I shot several fireballs at him, hoping to get him to shut up.

"It's the truth! We had snowball fights, painted eggs for Bunny, and even pulled some pranks on people!" Jack shot several ice blasts as well to counter my fireballs.

_Bang! Bang! Bang!_

The two powers collided and exploded with a loud blast.

Suddenly, my head started to ache like hell again and I clutched my head out of reflex. It was just like last time with the guy at the grave!

Argh! God! The hell was going on!?

_"Your name's Jack? Well, my name's Jack, too."_

_"Don't get distracted! Or are you _burned_ out already."_

_"Don't worry. Isn't this what friends are for?"_

These random voices were coming out of nowhere. No, I know this voice. It was Jack's, but why don't I remember them? His voice sounded friendly, but there was no way that can be true. We were never on friendly terms!

"What about your sister?! Abby! Can't you remember her?" Jack kept on going with these stupid questions that was messing with my brain.

Then when I heard the name "Abby," the pain in my head got even worse while another voice came into my head.

_"Pumpkin!"_

My head felt like it was about to explode and split open. My teeth were gritting at each other and my hands were gripping my head so hard that it was starting to ache.

"Argh! Shut up! SHUT UP!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. I want the pain to go away! Make it stop already! While I was getting out of control, the energy in my body was getting out of control like my emotions. The pain and stress were cumulating my powers and increasing rapidly. Finally, when I couldn't hold on to it anymore, I screamed and released all my powers in every direction. "RARGH!"

The fire explosion blew in all direction, that also included Jack's. The snow spirit had to quickly create an ice shield to block the flames, but the blast was so powerful, it shattered his shield and crashed into him full on. Then he was sent flying backwards, horribly burnt and injured.

Once my pain was getting lighter, but still pounding, I was able to calm down a bit. Though I was starting to feel exhausted and breathing heavily from releasing so much energy in one go, I was still able to hold myself up. "You talk too much crap, Frostie. While you were so busy talking, you didn't even realize it yet. You're such an idiot!"

"What do you mean by that? Realize what?" He demanded, grasping on his injured arm.

"Like I said, you're such an idiot," I repeated with sneer on my face.

That's when Jack's eyes started to widen in realization and he started to look around. "Where' Pitch? Where did the dark army go?" He demanded again.

I laughed in satisfaction from the look of horror on his face. "You're seriously slow. While you kept blabbering nonstop like that, I was able to distract you while Pitch goes after his real targets."

"Targets?" He looked at me confused.

"Yep! Some kids that pissed him off real bad," I told him out of spite. I just seriously wanted to see that horrified look once I told him. "He's going to have his revenge on them."

Yes, finally, that look in his eyes. That horrified and panicked look! His faced was pale and his eyes widen in shock.

Then I heard him murmur something that it was almost a whisper.

"Oh no... Jamie..."

* * *

**~Abby's Side~**

The wind outside was still blowing violently that even the window was shaking repeatedly. The sky was also dark and full of black clouds. From time to time, there would be lightning flashing by and thunder rumbling loudly in the air.

The Burgess kids and Abby were sitting in the living room. The atmosphere in the room was heavy and quiet. Some of the kids were sitting on the sofa while a few were standing. Since the smogs attack them earlier, the kids have been deep in thought with the situation.

"So we're supposed to sit here and wait for everything to be over?" asked Caleb, looking at Jamie in hopes to get some clear answers. "Can't we do anything?"

"Jack told us to stay inside," Jamie tried to explain to his friend. "He said that it's dangerous right now."

These two were both standing in front of the sofa, arguing at one another.

"Can't we just do what we did last time Pitch attacked?" demanded Caleb.

"Yeah, if it wasn't for us, the guardians wouldn't have been able to defeat Pitch last time," added Claude, supporting his twin brother. He got off the sofa and stood by Caleb.

"But this time isn't like last time, right? He isn't alone now. He has a partner this time," said Pippa, who was sitting on the sofa next to Cupcake, trying to be reasonable to the twins.

"I agree with Pippa," agreed Monty, pushing his glasses up. "We don't know how strong he is now that he got himself a partner. He could be super stronger than before!"

"But shouldn't we help then if that's true?" thought Cupcake. "If the guardians are having trouble dealing with Pitch and this Cinder guy, then isn't that the more reason we should help as much as we can?"

"What do you expect us to do then?" wondered Jamie. "I promised Jack that we'll stay put. Besides, I believe Jack and the guardians can defeat Pitch. Good always triumph over evil."

"So you're saying that we should just do nothing?" demanded Caleb, getting annoyed. "You may be able to sit tight and do nothing, but I can't just sit here knowing that something is going on outside!"

While the older kids started to argue at one another, the little ones were playing with the greyhound on the floor. Abby and Sophie weren't really effected by the dark mood of the room, since they were still too young to understand the seriousness of the situation. Though they can't understand why the older kids were arguing, they at least can tell that the older kids were getting very anxious.

"Abby don' wike yelwin'," Abby said softly with a sad tone as she petted the greyhound.

The wisp was also hovering next to Abby protectively like a guard dog. Noticing Abby's sad mood made it worry. It tried to assure the girl, but the only thing that came out of its mouth were just blabbers.

Sophie, who was sitting on the opposite side of the greyhound, also sensed that her friend was in a gloomy mood, so she did what she could think of to help. She got up and walked to up to Abby. Then she grabbed her friend's cheeks and... _stretched!_

"Owie!" cried Abby, shocked and confused at Sophie's action.

Then Sophie let go and grinned widely at her.

"Smiwe!" she said, pulling her own cheeks and showing all her teeth.

Abby stared at her in bewilderment while rubbing her cheeks from the pain. Then she understood that Sophie wanted to help her feel better, so she smiled back.

Then both Sophie and Abby laughed while the wisp and the greyhound stared at the two laughing girls in confusion, not understanding what just happened.

Suddenly, the wisp felt something and it perked up in surprise. That feeling that it felt. It was so familiar. The wisp started to turn left and right, trying to pin point where that feeling was coming from. That feeling... it felt like its master.

Once the wisp could sense where the feeling was coming from, it immediately flew across the room and into the kitchen.

"Pwetty wight?!" Abby cried in surprise when the wisp zoomed out the room. "Whe you goin'?" She quickly got up and went chasing after the little fireball.

"Abby? Where are you going?" called Jamie, noticing Abby running into the kitchen.

"Pwetty wight!" Abby called out to the wisp, disappearing into the kitchen.

"Abby! Wait!" Jamie called out as he ran after her.

When Abby ran into the kitchen, she spotted the wisp flying through the dog flap door. She quickly ran through the kitchen towards the back door in panic. Not wanting to lose the wisp, she opened the door without caring of the dangerous wind outside and ran out onto the lawn after the little flame.

"Abby!" Jamie shouted in shock when he saw Abby running out the door. He quickly ran after her in panic and worry. "Abby! Come back! It's dangerous outside!"

Abby didn't seem to hear Jamie calling after her due to the strong and loud winds. The only thing in her mind was the wisp. She felt that if she lost the wisp, she'll lose something greater. She had to go after the wisp, the only thing that linked her to her brother. If not, she might not get to see her brother again. That was what her fear were telling her.

* * *

Thank you for reading. Please comment or leave feedback or suggestions.

It's been a tough week for me and super busy. School will be starting next week as well. Gotta start getting myself ready.

RainSonata was having too much fun writing Cinder's POV because of her dark mood lately. Keep that evil mind for another few weeks! I still need it!

Cinder's ref sheet is finally made. The link to his ref sheet is on my profile page.

**Thank you RainSonata for looking through it and editing some parts for me.**


	26. Chapter 24 Saved by Guardian of Memories

**Disclaimer: I do not own the ROTG universe or its original characters. This story is written within the ROTG universe. The rest of the characters belong to me.**

**Mwuahahahaha! I finally got off my lazyass and made the new cover! I've been wanting to make a new one for awhile, but my laziness got the better of me. A bigger version is on my DeviantArt account if you want to take a better look at all. Behold its beauty! **

***a pumpkin flies out of nowhere and hits writer in the head* Bonk!**

**Ow! The hell! Where'd that come from?! *looks around like crazy***

***Cinder snickers in dark corner***

* * *

**Chapter 24: Saved by the Guardian of Memories**

**~Frost's POV~**

"Out of my way!" I shouted, trying to get pass the large group of smog creatures in front of me. I have to get to Jamie and the others fast! They were in danger!

I swung my staff while sending a bolt of energy at the smog that got hit by my staff, blowing them into puff of snow. One after the other, I blasted the smogs, but they kept coming after me.

"You think I'll let you go so easily, Frostbite?" When I heard Cinder's voice behind me, so I turned around and was just in time to block his lantern pole from crushing my head.

_Clank!_

Our weapons collided onto each other. I held my ground, keeping the lantern pole from pushing me any further.

"Lantern! Stop this right now! You're making a huge mistake right now!" I shouted at him.

His black coal eyes glared at me coldly with this nasty grin on his face. "Mistake? You're the one to talk. You can't even say my name right. You memory must be that crappy."

"Why won't you listen?! I swear you're not yourself right now!" I tried to reason with him, but it didn't seem to go through that thick skull of his.

"Still talking crap again?" Cinder glared at me with this annoyed look in his eyes. Then he kicked me in the stomach, sending me backwards, forcing air out of my lungs.

I gasped and coughed for air from that attack. While I was trying to catch my breath, I suddenly felt something slam into my back really hard. It was like I was hit by a car out of nowhere.

"Argh!" I gasped in pain. I was pushed forward and almost knocked out of the sky, barely balancing myself in time. The pain in my back was a killer! If I was human, I think I would've broken my spine! I looked back at what hit me and it was a smog in a form of a bull and it seemed that it still wanted another go at me.

Then three more appeared by its side, staring at me with their burning fiery eyes and their sharp horn pointed at me. "Holy winter..."

They got into their charging position and then came at me at full speed. I quickly flew higher into the air while barely dodging their horn attacks.

"Lantern! Cinder! Oh whatever!" I was having enough of this name business. "You have to stop Pitch! Your sister is here with the kids he's targeting!"

"What sister? I don't have any sister," Cinder said, confused. "Is this another crap you're trying to mess with me?"

Ugh! Why won't he listen! It's like trying to talk with a brick wall! But an evil brick wall that's preventing me from getting to the kids in time! Evil or not, this guy was persistent as ever! I would have called it admirable if it wasn't for the fact that he wasn't on our side and that he was fighting blindly without questioning anything. Pitch must have put on quite a show to convince him they were the one and same, although I do remember the Nightmare King having a way with words. He was very good as using fear as a tool to manipulate people, but for Lantern's case, it was his memories.

"You HAVE a SISTER!" I shouted at him, getting seriously fed up with his stubbornness. "And she's been worried sick about you!"

"SHUT UP! I DON'T HAVE ANY SISTER! The only family I have is Pitch! Get it through your thick head!" I lashed back at me, sending waves of fire at me.

I had to quickly dodged those flames while trying to blast those bulls that kept charging at me like some red cape at a bull fight. I blasted at one that came at me from the side and ice slashed another one from the opposite side. When I poured a lot of my energy into the staff and hit a smog with it, the creature would blow up into puff of snow.

Then I went after Cinder, who was hovering above me. I seriously didn't want to hurt him or even fight him. But no matter how hard I tried to talk to him or convince him, he just won't listen at all! He trusted Pitch so much that he wouldn't listen to anyone else. If this was how it was going to be, then I have no choice but to use force and make him remember.

As I flew closer to Cinder, the fire spirit quickly sent several fire balls at me. There were so many of them that I had to stop in my track and summon up a large amount of energy in my body. Once I release it just a second later, a strong cold blast of wind blew towards the fireballs and blowing up into steam caused by fire drying the water particles in the wind. While the steam hasn't disperse yet, I quickly flew into it to use it as a cover. It was like how Cinder used the same method against, but now I'm using it against him.

Since the steam helped cover me inside for a few seconds, Cinder didn't see me coming. I was able shoot out from the mist and right in front of the unexpected Cinder, who stared at me in surprise.

While he was still shocked to find this surprise attack, I quickly sent a blast of blue energy at him and it hit him right in the chest. The blast hit his chest full on and blew up upon impact.

_Bang! _

He was sent flying backwards and falling several feet through the sky. Then he was able to catch himself in time and was now hovering several feet below me. He was clutching his chest from the pain of the blast. Apparently, he didn't appreciate being blasted right in the chest, because when his black coal eyes shot up to look at me, it was filled with anger and hatred.

"You DAMN SNOW BASTARD!" Cinder cursed loudly and then shot up towards me like a bullet.

I was already expecting this and quickly had my guard up. Cinder swung his pole at me again, but I blocked it with my own staff. Then he tried to kick me again, but this time, I was prepared for it. I did a backflip up in the air and over his head when he tried to sink his foot into my mid-section, missing me by inches. Then I came back down and gave him a good kick with both my feet slammed into his back.

Cinder was forcefully pushed forward, crying out in shock. Not giving him any time to pause, I quickly shot a blast of light blue spark at him. Unfortunately, Cinder quickly rebounded himself in the air and shot back his own blast of fire.

_Boom!_

The two opposite energy collided and created another large amount of mist. Knowing what was going to happen next, I quickly flew into the air to change my position. Just as what I expected, Cinder came shooting out of the mist after me.

"Don't you dare run away from our battle, Jack Frost!" He yelled behind me.

While I was trying to out run him, out of nowhere, several orbs of fire surrounded me, blocking my path. They were flying around me in some sphere shape path, preventing me from getting out. I was trapped.

"This is a new trick I learned while training with the Nightmares," smirked Cinder from outside the fire trap. "I was thinking of using it when all the other guardians were here, but I guess I can use it on you early."

_Snap!_

Then with a snap of his fingers, all the fireball suddenly froze in place. I stared at the fireballs in confusion, not knowing what to expect. Even the fireballs themselves stopped blazing in the cool night like someone came into time itself and stopped it with a flick of a command. I found myself distracted by the odd phenomenon, too shocked to fly away. I watched Cinder smirk as his eyes shone maliciously at me. Then the fireballs all came shooting at me from all side like a bullet. There was no way I could dodge them.

_Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!_

* * *

**~Pitch's POV~**

While Cinder was dealing with Jack Frost and preventing him from interfering with my plans, I rode to the Town of Burgess with my Nightmares and some of Cinder's Smogs

behind me. I was on the rooftop of a building to scan the streets for any sign of life. I could still see the lights shining from the windows and street lamps. Shadows of people moving about.

Seeing how everyone should be indoors due to the dark weather and strong winds, then my search shouldn't be too hard. Having humans running around would make my search more complicated. Though the idea of watching panic and terrified crowds was very tempting, but my plans come first.

"Search every house and buildings. Make sure no shadow is left unlooked. Find me those children and bring them to me!" I ordered the Nightmares and Smogs.

My dark army cried out in excitement for their hunt. Some jumped down onto the streets and ran in every directions. Others went into homes and buildings, searching for their targets. I could hear screams and cries of fear from human children here and there. I can feel their fear and my powers rising with every scream.

My plans were going very well. Once I get my hands on those brats, I'll make them remember why they should fear me. Then when those guardians arrive, they would already be too powerless and exhausted to fight me. Then I'll make them suffer what I had suffered for so many centuries. They will taste the same defeat I went through.

* * *

**~Abby's Side~**

Abby was running through the streets, trying to not lose sight of the little flame flying ahead of her. The little fireball was darting away like crazy like it was in a hurry. Even though she was getting tired, she was more scared of losing the wisp. So she kept on running and running with her small little feet.

"Abby! Come back!" Jamie yelled behind her. "It's not safe out here!"

Abby didn't seem to hear him as she continued to run after the wisp. She was so fixated on following the wisp that she didn't realize they were already in town where all the shops were. They were very much far away from Jamie's house.

The streets were empty and quiet except from the loud wailing of the wind. No one was there due to the bad weather the town was having, so almost everyone was indoors. It was creepy and disturbing somehow.

"Pwetty wights! Whe you goin'?" called Abby, trying to keep up. She was running out of breath and her muscles were starting to hurt.

"Abby!" Jamie called again.

While the wisp was still flying with only its senses telling him where to go, he wasn't aware that the street wasn't as empty as it seemed. Out of nowhere a dark black figure came jumping in front of it, blocking its path.

_Grrrr!_

It was a Smog creature of a Panther. It was staring at the wisp and children with it's bright yellow eyes. Its sudden appearance caught the wisp off guard and the little fireball barely stopped in time before it could fly smack into the skeleton face. The wisp was able to stop in front of its face, a few inches away from it's jaws.

_Aaaaaaahhhhhh!_ The wisp screamed at the top of its lungs before it quickly flew back and hid inside Abby's hood, shivering in fear.

"Uh oh," exclaimed Abby, when she saw the Smog before her.

"Oh shoot! A Smog! Abby, this way!" Jamie quickly pulled Abby by the arm and ran to the side. As they ran, the Smog Panther followed right after them. Then from another direction, two more Smog Panther appeared from the shadows.

_Roar!_

Their cries can be heard close behind them and the hard pounding sound thundered on pavement, echoing through the streets.

Jamie didn't look back as he held onto Abby's hand tightly. He just kept looking forward, trying to find any paths to out run the dark menacing beasts.

Abby, on the other hand, was already reaching her limit. She's been running for so long that her little muscles was starting to tire out. Finally, her legs got so tired that she misstep and tripped onto the hard cement sidewalk.

"Oof! Ow!" cried Abby when she fell. This caused Abby to loose her grip and her hand slipped through Jamie's hand.

"Abby!" cried Jamie, shocked. He quickly ran to pick Abby up, but it was too late to run away. The Smogs have now caught up to them and had them surrounded. The dark evil creatures' eyes glared at them menacingly. Jamie tried to push Abby behind him protectively, but even he was nervous that they won't be able to escape. "Stay behind me, Abby," he told her.

Abby could only gasped onto his clothes, shaking. She was staring nervously at the Smogs, unsure what to do now.

Then suddenly,

"FIRE!"

_Splat! Splat! Splat! Splat! Splat! Splat! Splat!_

Out of nowhere, the Smog Panthers were getting shot with what looked like paint. They were practically covered in red, blue, and yellow paint. Now the Smogs were no longer just plain dark gray. They now came in splatters of primary colors.

Jamie turned around to see who their savior was and he was shocked to see who they were.

"Guys!" he gasped in surprise.

All his friends were there with their own defensive tool in hand. Both Caleb and Claude had paintball guns in their hands while cupcake was swinging what looked like a jumprope. The look in their eyes didn't show any fear for the Smogs. Their piercing glares were burning with confidence and fearlessness.

"Jamie! Over here!" called Claude.

"Hurry!" Caleb rushed them.

Jamie quickly grasped Abby's hand and ran towards them while the Smogs were confused and blind from the paint in their eyes. He felt relieved to see his friends, but at the same time, surprise to see them out here.

"Thanks guys! You really saved us there," thanked Jamie.

"No problem, bro, but let's get to your house first before we celebrate," told Claude.

"What about Monty and Pippa?" Jamie asked, wondering what happened to his other two friends.

"They're at home, looking after Sophie," answered Cupcake. "Let's get a move on."

So they dashed down the streets in the direction they came from, hoping they could reach safety before something bad happens. Right behind them, more dark creatures started to appear from the darkness and chased after the children.

* * *

**~Jamie's POV~**

"More of them are coming!" I cried out when I looked back and saw several Nightmares and Smogs pursuing us.

Then Claude and Caleb turned around with their paintball guns aimed at the dark creatures and fired.

"Eat this, Nightmare scums!" shouted Caleb when he pulled the trigger.

_Splat! Splat! Splat! Splat! Splat! Splat!_

_Hiiiiiiii!_

_Reowr!_

A Nightmare and Smog creature that looked like a large cat were hit in the face and legs, causing them to trip and fall in confusion.

Then Caleb and Claude gave each other high fives before running off again. Two down, ten or more to go.

"Can't we defeat the Nightmares like we used to do? Like ya know, touch them and they go _poof!_ like last time?" wondered Caleb.

"Do you wanna try with those Smogs with them?" replied Claude, running behind him. "We don't even know if we can get rid of those Smogs like how we get rid of Nightmares."

That was a good question. How do we defeat a Smog? We already knew how to defeat Nightmares from our last battle with Pitch, but what about Smogs? Are they like Nightmares and feed off fear as well?

Suddenly, a Nightmare jumped out from an alley and landed in front of us. It cried out and raised its forelegs into the air, causing us to stop in out tracks in surprise.

Cupcake was surprised at its sudden appearance at first, but then her face turned mean looking and charged at the Nightmare with no fear at all.

"Aaaahhh!" Cupcake cried out as she dashed towards the Nightmares.

Of course, the Nightmare didn't expect this and stared wide eye in shock. It even tried to walk back a bit nervously, but Cupcake already smacked her palms on the black creature's chest.

Then the Nightmare started to turn bright gold, spreading from where Cupcake touched it. The gold areas spread quickly and within seconds, the Nightmare was no more. What stood in front of us was now a golden unicorn. It wasn't like those magnificent creatures you see in artwork, but more of a cartoony kind with thick legs and body. It was jumping playfully and excited before Cupcake as if it was happy to see her.

"Looks like I haven't lost my touch," grinned Cupcake, petting the unicorn. Then she hopped onto its back and told us, "Get on! Hurry!"

Not sure if that Unicorn can carry five kids on its back, but at a time like this, it was a good chance to test out its weight limit. I quickly carried Abby and gave her to Cupcake, who took Abby and put the little girl in front of her. Then Caleb, Claude and I quickly climbed onto the unicorns back before Cupcake told it to dash off.

"Let's go!" Cupcake ordered the gold unicorn and they were off.

It looked like the unicorn was sturdier than I thought. It _can_ carry five kids on its back with no difficulty at all.

We were ridding through the streets on a unicorn with a group of Nightmares and Smogs right behind us. The unicorn made sudden turns at almost every corner that some of us almost got thrown off a few times.

"Can't you stop making those hard turns?! Caleb almost fell off three times already!" complained Claude, irritatedly. When the unicorn made another sudden turn, Caleb was almost thrown off again.

"Wah!" gasped Caleb, but Claude was able to grab his brother by his jacket just in time.

"Make that _four_!" Claude

"I'm more worried about outrunning those things than worry about my steering skills here!" Cupcake argued back.

Then the unicorn made a jump over a pile of trash bags and suddenly stopped.

"Woah!"

"What the...!?"

"Hey! Stop squishing me!"

Some of us cried when we were pushed forward by the force from the sudden stop, squishing into the front. Just when we thought we couldn't get anymore squished, the unicorn raised its back legs in the air in a kicking position, squishing us further into the front even more.

"What now!?"

"Oh god! I can't breathe!"

"Stop pushing!"

Then the unicorn kicked the trash bags with its powerful hind legs, sending the bags into the Nightmares and Smogs. The trash bags blew up upon impact and the dark creatures were covered in garbage and... I think I just spotted a happy face pattern boxer.

Once the unicorn was done with its garbage-disposing kick, it immediately dashed off again. It made a quick turn in a corner and into an alley. It even jumped onto dumpsters and fences to slow down our pursuers.

We were able to slow down the dark evil creatures a little bit, but it seemed that more of them are appearing out of nowhere. They were not just coming from the shadows of the streets, but also from the skies.

Claude and Caleb were fire away with their paintball guns while Cupcake was steering the unicorn. I also borrowed Cupcake's pink jumprope and swung it around, hitting any Nightmares or Smogs that came too close.

"There're just too many of them and they're gaining on us!" cried Caleb.

"Thanks for stating the obvious, Sherlock!" snapped Claude.

I started to feel worried and even panic a bit, wondering if we'll ever get out of this safe and sound. There were too many of them and kept catching up to us. Some were already catching up to us. Just when I start to loose hope, Abby started to shout out something.

"Wook! Wook!" Abby pointed at the sky.

I stared at her for a second before looking at the sky, wondering what she meant. Then something green and blue came shooting out of the dark cloudy sky and slashed at two Nightmares and a Smog that were running right next to us.

_Slash! Slash! Slash!_

The said creatures burst into sand and smoke with one slash from those two blades, held by a beautiful feathery woman with wings. Those tropical colored feathers and fluttering wings.

It was definitely the Tooth Fairy!

"I'll hold them off! Get to safety! Quick!" she hurried us.

"Alright! The Tooth Fairy is here!" cheered Caleb.

"That means the other guardians are coming, right?" asked Claude, excited.

"They're on their way. When we got Jack's message, we came as soon as possible," told Tooth. Then she flew towards the other dark evil creatures behind us and took them out in a flash. Her swords flashed by quickly in lightning speed. I could barely keep up with her fast movement.

"Hey! Look!" called Cupcake pointing to the sky as well.

We all looked up and there before our eyes, a bright golden plane came flying through the sky with several golden manta rays, dolphins, and fish followed behind it. Their golden bodies shined brightly in the dark sky like a ray of hope within a dark time like this.

Not far behind the golden army, was a sleigh. I can hear the jingles of bells coming from it even from this distance.

"Help haz arrive!" I heard, North, the Guardian of Wonders yelled out.

Then I noticed something being thrown off the sleigh and exploded into burst of light upon hitting the ground. Several burst of light swirled into some kind of bright vortex and suddenly, yetis and elves came jumping out of it! It was one of those portals that North uses! I was awestruck from seeing yetis and elves charging into the streets with clubs, hammers, and toys!

While I was amazed by this sight, I suddenly heard a rumbling sound in another direction. I turned to look and saw half a dozen holes appearing on the ground. Then several large egg statues popped up from those holes.

"Sentinels! March!" I spotted the Easter Bunny, the Guardian of Hope, dashing towards us. "Get to safety, mates!" he told us before he went and joined the Tooth Fairy.

Once the sentinels got their order, they joined the yetis and elves like a large army. This was an amazing sight to see! It was almost like the last battle we had last year!

"Oh my god! They're here! They're all here!" Caleb cried excited with his fists raised in the air.

"Now Pitch is going to get his butt whooped!" Claude joined the excitement.

Even the unicorn got excited and raised it's fore legs high into the air. I wished it didn't do that, because we almost fell off. Luckily, we grab each other in time or some of us would've tumbled right over.

"Down pony! Down!" cried Caleb, barely hanging onto his brother.

"Cupcake! Make it stop!" begged Claude, grabbing onto me.

"I can't hold on much longer!" I shouted, hugging onto Cupcake.

"Wheee!" Abby laughed happily.

Cupcake had to quickly order the unicorn to calm down before some of us falls over and gets injured. Once the unicorn got its front legs on the ground, we all sighed in relief.

"Sorry about that. She just got too excited," apologized Cupcake.

"Well, just don't let it do it again," told Claude.

"Seriously," added Caleb.

"Do you want me to thrown you guys off? I'm willing to do that right now, you know," threatened Cupcake, cracking her knuckles.

Both brothers gulped nervously and stopped complaining right then and there. I sighed in exhaustion since I was in the middle of this. Like literally! But at least their relationship was getting better... I think.

* * *

**~Wisp's Side~**

While the wisp was watching in amazement of the Guardian's army charging into the Nightmares and Smogs, it felt that familiar feeling again. That was the master's! The wisp can tell that its master was not too far away. Like the Jack O'Lantern radar that it was, it quickly knew where to go. The wisp quickly popped out of Abby's hood and flew off again like crazy.

"Oh no! Pwetty Wights!" cried Abby, noticing the wisp flying off.

"What? Oh not again!" Jamie whined, since he also spotted the wisp flying off.

"Folwow wights!" ordered Abby, pointing in the direction where the wisp has gone.

"Seriously?" whined Caleb, looking very unpleased about this.

"Oh come on! We were supposed to get to a safe place!" complained Claude.

"I said FOLWOW WIGHTS!" demanded Abby, with a more forceful tone.

Then all older kids went silent in shock. Even though they just met her today, Abby being so demanding was... unexpected.

"But Abby...," Jamie tried to reasoned with her, but was cut off by Abby's determined look. "Alright, fine." He finally gave in.

And so off the unicorn went dashing through the streets with the wisp flying up ahead. No one knew why the wisp was acting this way, but they will soon find out. Very soon...

* * *

Thank you for reading. Please comment or leave feedback or suggestions.

School starts today and I'll be busy with that now, but I'll still try to get this update weekly. We're are almost finish with this story and I have other plans as well. My aunt has been throwing projects for her daughter's birthday party at me like crazy these passed few weeks and it feels like it will never end...

**Thank you RainSonata for looking through it and editing some parts for me.**

**For Mitsukiharu's question from ch. 23**

**In case nobody understood this as well and there was no way I can explain this in the story since none of the characters really knew about this part of Lantern's personality, I'm going to explain it myself.**

**Jack O'Lantern has a strong sense of trust. It was shown clearly when he was friends with the guardians and Jack Frost. When he became Cinder, the evil spirit also has that same sense of trust from before but this time with Pitch. But that doesn't mean he doesn't have some doubts tickling inside him too. He doesn't like doubting the people he trust and tends to show signs of denial. Lantern had it, but not as clearly as Cinder. **


	27. Chapter 25 Breaking Point

**Disclaimer: I do not own the ROTG universe or its original characters. This story is written within the ROTG universe. The rest of the characters belong to me.**

**For Guest from ch 24,**

**Scorpius02: NOOOOOOO! No shipping! No YAOI shipping! You are giving my friends ideas and almost all the girls in my group are yaoi fangirls! OH MY GOD IT ALREADY STARTED!**

**FlameofScorpions: Hello Pretties. O u O**

******Mitsukiharu: Fufufu...I don't discriminate you know... All the shipping! ^ u ^**

**Scorpius02: Look what you started! You people are horrible ;^; *hides under desk to escape spider cake***

* * *

**Chapter 25: Breaking Point**

**~North's POV~**

Dark clouds covered the town of Burgess like a black veil. I had no doubt that this was done by the hands of Pitch Black. When I flew the sleigh over the town, I spotted many Nightmares and Smogs scattered throughout the place.

I already threw over the snow globes onto the ground below to open up many portals for the Yetis and Elves to charge out. They've been resting and waiting at the North Pole for a while after their last fight. I can see them running into Pitch's army and taking out as many dark creatures as they can. The yetis were swinging their clubs and bashing their hammers while crying out their war cry like angry gorillas. The elves were also doing a great job with their tiny, but quick bodies. Since the elves also seem to hold a good amount of knowledge of how to use the toys from the workshop, they fought fiercely with what they've got like flying through the skies with the toy aircrafts, zooming through the road with toy race cars, and firing with toy cannons that used marbles as ammunition.

Bunny's Sentinels also joined in and crushed many of the creatures. Their large stone bodies made them slow, but their strong bodies were not easy to take down. Many of the Nightmares and Smogs were having a hard time dealing with just one of the stone eggs. Getting hit by just one of them would be like getting hit by a truck.

Sandy was flying on the other side of the town with his own golden sand army. The large golden creatures swam through the sky as if they were underwater. Nightmares and Smogs also flew into the air towards them and soon it became an air battle.

It was like watching a war between light and darkness. Which was not far off from it. To end this war once and for all, we have to find Pitch and defeat him. I searched the grounds and buildings from the sleigh, looking for any sign of the boogeyman.

"Looking for someone?" I heard a cold and amused voice from behind. I immediately recognized that voice and turned around to face the man I was looking for.

Hovering in the air while riding on his Nightmare, was none other than Pitch Black. His mischievous eyes glared at me with a devilish smirk on his face. I hated that vile look on his face. It was like that arrogant fool was underestimating us.

"Pitch Black!" I shouted angrily at him. I unsheathed one of my swords while my other hand held onto the reins and pointed the blade towards the boogeyman. "Ve have let you go many time and yet you never learn from your mistakes! No matter how many chances ve gave you, you alvays come back and try to put zhis vorld into darkness. Zhis time, Pitch, I vill end you and your evil schemes!"

"Oh, I would love to see you try, North," mocked Pitch. "You have no idea what it's like to be powerless and not believed in. You have no idea how much I suffered those years in the darkness and alone."

"Zhen give up on spreading fear and darkness!" I argued back. "Zhen ve don't have to fight anymore! You von't have to be alone as vell."

"That's where your wrong, North," he glared at me with annoyance in his eyes. "I am fear and darkness. I can only exist when there's fear. Without fear, I am powerless and weak. I would be _nothing_! And destroying you and your guardian friends will satisfy me greatly."

"Zhen I have no choice but to destroy you," I shot him a glare of my own. I steered the reindeers towards Pitch with my sword raised in the air. I cried out as I swung my sword at him, but it was then countered by his large black scythe made from his sand.

A loud _Clank! _sounded as our weapon collided with each other. I wasn't able to land a blow with my first attack, so I steered the sleigh around again to get another swing at him.

Pitch also came at me with his scythe raised and ready to attack as well. But when we swung our weapons, it only countered each other again. Then the Nightmare jumped back in the air and Pitch sent a massive wave of black sand at me, knocking the sleigh right out of the sky.

I was also knocked out of the sleigh from that attack and I fell hard onto the hard cement floor of a rooftop. My whole body ached from the fall, but I still pushed myself up, though it wasn't easy. I used my sword to push me back up like a support.

"You think you can destroy me with your pathetic attacks," mocked Pitch, slowly descended down and landed on the rooftop gently. "I am far more powerful now than I was before. There's no way you can defeat me."

"Maybe alone, I can't," I glared at the black man. "But vith my companions and friends, you can count on it!"

While Pitch glared at me, something came shooting towards the black man from behind. Hearing the sound of fluttering wings, Pitch turned around in time to quickly raise his scythe in front of him before something clashed.

_Clank!_

Two blades were pressed onto the scythe. Of course, it wasn't me, so the other person who wields two swords here was _her_.

"Pitch!" cried Tooth, flying back right before Pitch tried to swing the scythe down at her. "Return Lantern's teeth right now!" she demanded angrily.

"Or what?" sneered Pitch.

"Or we'll kick your sorry butt, mate!" Then Bunny came jumping onto the roof and threw his boomerang at him.

_Swoosh!_

Pitch quickly ducked when the flying object came at him and then dodged it when the thing came flying back again.

_Swoosh! _

Bunny caught the boomerang when it came back to him and he quickly got into a fighting position.

Pitch started to look aggravated with his eyebrows pinched together and baring his teeth angrily.

Then there came another sound from above. It was like a mixture between bells ringing and sand flowing.

When Pitch looked up, a bright yellow light shined upon him and he barely created a shield with his black sand in time when something hit it.

_Bam! Ssssssss_

A large amount of gold sand crashed onto the shield and flowing down onto the side. Then the sand that flowed out turned into several streams and flew towards Pitch like a snake. The stream of gold sand immediately flew around the Nightmare King and wrapped around him like a rope.

Pitch cursed loudly when the sand wrapped around his wrists and tying themselves together, causing him to drop his scythe onto the floor. Then his arms and legs got tied up, making him immobile.

Sandy came hovering down on his tiny island made of his golden sand. He had his arms crossed and looked very displeased as he glared at Pitch coldly.

"You damn guardians! You think you can capture me with this kind of magic trick?" demanded Pitch, glaring at all of us angrily. "Don't underestimate me!" he growled.

Suddenly, appearing from all around us, were Nightmares and Smogs of many kind. They were in the air and on top of buildings. They blocked all sides and had us surrounded.

"GET THEM!" Pitch shouted to his dark minions.

So the guardians and I got attack from every direction. Tooth was swinging her blade and dodging their attacks. Bunny was jumping, kicking, and slashing them with his boomerang. Sandy had his whips whipping everywhere. For me, I was also swinging and slashing down my swords in every direction that the creatures were coming from.

While we were busy trying to defend ourselves, a large smog cat slipped passed us and darted towards Pitch. It unsheathed it's claws and tore through Sandy's sand that was wrapped around Pitch. Once the sand rope was torn, Pitch was free once again.

Now that nothing was keeping him tied up, he called to one of his Nightmares, which quickly came running to his side, and jumped onto its back. Then he rode back into the sky away from us.

"Tooth! Sandy! Go after him!" I yelled to them so they can hear over all this fighting.

"What about you and Bunny?" asked Tooth, worried for us.

"We'll be fine, mate," assured Bunny, jumping and kicking a Nightmare.

"Ve'll catch up later," I told them.

Tooth and Sandy nodded that they understood and quickly flew after Pitch while Bunny and I tried to take care of the creatures here.

**~Cinder's POV~**

_Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!_

The sound of several loud explosion echoed through the sky like fireworks. A large mass of smoke scattered everywhere from that attack. There was no way that icicle bastard can dodge that attack. That technique was made to trap and attack any pitiful soul that gets caught in it.

Then I spotted something falling from all that smoke and headed towards the forest down below. Looked like Jack was knocked out cold by that attack since he wasn't moving anymore, besides hurling towards the ground. Falling from this height would probably hurt... _real bad_.

I definitely got to see this! So I flew after him as the winter spirit was getting closer to the ground.

He fell and crashed through the branches of the trees, one after the other. One would think a spirit would fall with more dignity, right? Um, wrong. Unless one defined dignity as hitting every branch on the way down and making a bird's nest in his hair. It was like watching a fallen angel fall from the heavens from flying too close to the sun. I could even hear all that racket from half a mile away! I can totally imagine him hitting and breaking all those branches before he finally hit the ground with a loud _thud! _

Ooooooo, that's gotta hurt! No pity there.

I landed on the ground softly while keeping my eyes on the beaten up figure lying on the ground face down. His staff was lying more than ten feet away from him. Too far for him to reach. I would be lying if I was to say that I pitied the old fool for leaving his weapon beyond his reach. Tch, didn't the guardians tell you to always keep your extra hand by your side, Frosty old pal? Some guardian you turned out to be. I was actually disappointed our fight didn't last longer. It would have been more fun of a match if you weren't so weak.

"Argh..." grunted the figure, slowly starting to move.

Damn! I was hoping that the fall would kill him. Oh well. It's not like he was a mortal anyways. I guess I have more time to beat the crap out of him then.

Jack slowly pushed himself up onto all four. He still seemed to be dazed and confused as he rubbed his head. Then I noticed the look of realization on his face and started to look around. When he spotted me, he immediately got up onto his feet and glared at me warily. From the way he was barely standing on his feet, he was definitely reaching his limits.

I can also feel myself getting exhausted from that last attack I pulled and I can also tell that I was breathing a little harder. Spirits still need to breath you know. Even when we're supposedly dead. Don't even ask about the logic in that! Despite that, there was no way I was going to show any weakness in front of this guy.

"Still want to fight, Frostbite?" I sneered at him. "Don't think you have enough energy though."

Then Jack seemed to have realized something because he stared at his hand like something was missing. He turned around and spotted his staff lying quite a distance away. He quickly made a dash towards it, but before he could grab his staff, I sent a fire blast to knock it further way, out of his reach. I also shot towards him in a flash and slammed my lantern pole right into his stomach, sending him flying to the side.

He rolled a few times on the ground before he skidded to a halt. I can hear him grunting in pain on the ground. He was probably horribly injured right now, but he still pushed himself up and stare at me with those determined eyes.

Those eyes were starting to irritate me.

"You seriously don't know when to give up do you?" I glared at him irritatedly.

"Lantern, please! Enough with this stupid fight already!" He pleaded, grasping his arm. "Why can't you understand that what you're doing is going to put all the kids on earth in danger?! Including your sister!"

"I already told you that I don't have any sister!" I snapped. Is he seriously going to continue with this crap? I don't ever remember having any sister in my life. The only person that even come close to a family was Pitch and only Pitch. Sure he gets moody and snaps at times, but he's still awesome! Hell! He was the one who raised me and trained me to be what I am today. He used to be so strong and powerful, but those damn guardians had to strip his powers away and treated him like trash! I'll never forgive them. Never! I'll make them regret for ever messing with us and make sure Pitch gets back what was rightfully his.

"Yes, you DO! Why can't you remember her? You cared for her so much," he continued to look at me with those pleading eyes. "And me? Did you completely forget everything that we did together? We always messed around together and pulled pranks on North and the others a lot. We used to have so much fun together. How could you forget all of that?!"

I glared at him coldly. Still going on with this crap, I see. "If you don't stop yapping about this bull crap, then I'll make you shut up by force!"

I poured my energy into my hand, creating a large fireball. It danced brilliantly in my palms. Just when I was about to flung that thing into Jack's weakened body, I caught the sound of rustling bushes. That immediately caught my attention. Who or what could it be to be out in this kind of weather?

Then something small and bright came shooting out of the bushes towards me. What the hell!? I almost fell backwards when that thing came flying into my face. It was some kind of fireball that was blabbering nonsense like crazy! What the...!? Oh my god! Now it's cuddling me!

"Ugh! Get away from me, you little...fire thingy!" I shouted at it while trying to brush it away from me.

All of a sudden, it started to stare at me with this confused look. Then... Oh shit! Is it crying? It's actually crying out fire!? How do I make this thing shut up?!

"For crying out loud! SHUT UP!" I screamed at the top of my lungs out of frustration. After that scream, I panted like crazy as if I just ran mile.

It worked! The stupid flame ball finally shut up! Now it was just staring at me with those tiny little eyes of it.

Suddenly, I heard more rustling of bushes coming towards us, but this time it was a lot louder.

Oh come on! Don't tell me there're more of them!?... Wait a minute, do I hear hooves?

"Ow! I think I got hit by a branch!"

"Here comes another one! DUCK!"

"Big rock! Big ROCK!"

"Get out of the way! Gold unicorn coming through!"

"What the...!?" I gasped as something big and gold came bursting out of the bushes and was about to crash into me. Just when I thought I was going to get trampled, the big gold thing skidded to a halt just a few inches away from crashing into me. I was so shocked from almost getting crushed that my knees buckled and I fell onto my butt. I couldn't say a word because my brain was too busy trying to make sense with what just happened.

"What are you doing standing in the middle of the road?!" I heard a girl's voice. "I could've crashed into you!"

It took me awhile to get my mind straight before I actually started to notice the thing that almost crashed into me. The big gold thingy was a unicorn. All glittery and glowing like a star. On its back were five kids. How was that thing able to carry all of them?!

The one that talked to me was a large and mean looking girl. Even with that pink tutu of hers, she still look like she can punch someone's eye out. There were also three other boys as well. In front of the mean looking girl, was another girl, but younger. Didn't notice her at first since she was so small.

"What are you kids doing here!?" I heard Jack cried out in surprise. "It's too dangerous out here! Go home!"

"I'm sorry, Jack," apologized the boy with grown hair. "It's just that the wisp been acting weird..."

"Pumpkin!" The little girl stared with these big round and ecstatic eyes..._at me?_

Why is she staring at me like that? And did she just say 'Pumpkin'? There's no pumpkin on me nor anywhere here at all.

Yet, there was some familiarity about that word...

Suddenly, the little girl jumped down the unicorn and ran towards me with her arms spread out. "Pumpkin!"

What the hell?!

I quickly jumped off the ground and backed away from her. I stared at her warily.

"I'm not a pumpkin! Who are you and what do you damn kids want?" I demanded.

"Dude! Watch your language! She's only like... what? Three?!" Yelled one of the black kids with the weird hairdo, getting off the unicorn with some difficultly. The other kids were also getting off the golden horse while trying not to trip or fall.

Who cared about language? What's the point of censorship when saying the damn word means what it meant? I say damn because damn. Tch! I can never understand the point of people fussing over one word.

I ignored him while glaring at the little girl. For some reason, there was something familiar about her. It's like I've seen her before.

"Who... are you?" I demanded again.

Then I heard Jack answering me with a firm tone. "She's _your_ sister."

I shot him a furious glare. "I TOLD YOU I DON'T HAVE A SISTER!" I screamed, angrily. I definitely don't remember having any sister, but the look in Jack's eyes were so serious. Why was he so held on trying to convince me I have a sister?

"Pumpkin?" The little girl looked at me with heartbroken eyes.

"I'm NOT a _pumpkin_!" I tried to correct her, angrily. "The name's Cinder! _Cinder!_"

Suddenly, like a blast of electricity, the most painful headache I ever experience blew up in my head like a bomb, frying my brain. I clawed my head in pain, trying to make it stop. Flashes of images and voices getting cut off mid sentence like some screwed up video recorder blasted through my brain.

_"Ooooooo! Pwetty wi...," an image of the little girl flashed by in a second._

_"Your name is Cinder," an image of Pitch looking down at me. _

_"I found big bwo...," an image of the little girl cheered happily._

_"I'm Pitch Black," Pitch introduced himself. "Join me."_

_"Don't get distra..." Jack Frost threw snow ball towards me with this big grin on his face._

_"The Guardia are our enemies," It as Pitch again._

_"Guardian... our duty... protect zhe childr..." The big man called North appeared and smiled warmly at me._

_"Easter... hope... new begin...," The large rabbit grinned as he painted his eggs._

_"Hi!... excited to mee...," The bird lady smiled brightly at me._

_"Only listen to me," Pitch stared at me coldly._

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. The pain in my head was unbearable. It was like something inside my head was about to break. I didn't know what they were or if they were real, but I definitely know that the pain in my head was very _very_ real. "Shut up! SHUT UP!"

"Lantern!" Jack cried in shock from my agonizing scream.

"Jack, what's going? What's happening to him?" The boy with the brown hair cried out worriedly.

"Guy's gone nuts!" one of the black kids with the beanie shouted.

"Abby! Get back here!" ordered the tutu girl.

"Pumpkin?" Abby looked at me worriedly.

Then... I finally... snapped.

"I SAID SHUT UP!" I shouted furiously as I conjured up a fireball in my palm and was about to flung it at the little girl before me.

I didn't care what I was doing. The pain was driving me insane! I wanted to make it stop. They're cries were loud and noisy! It was adding to my headache. Make it stop! Make it STOP!

"Lantern! Stop!" I heard Jack yelled in horror.

I completely ignored the snow spirit and was eyeing the girl in front of me with the intent to destroy anything and everything to relieve this pain.

Somehow, it felt like time slowed down around me. Jack came running towards us desperately. The little girl stared wide eye at the fire in my hand. I was bringing my hand down to throw the fire. Jack tried to grab the little girl, but it didn't look like he'll reach her in time.

Then within seconds, two things happened in that small tiny amount of time. Something inside my head seemed to scream out something that made me froze. It was like my head was telling me to stop when I stared into those eyes. Those shocked and frightened eyes. Then there was this flash of bright light and something came flying into my face. Some small and very bright.

_BIIIIIIIII!_

I heard a high pitch cry and something blasting into my face. It was that god damn noisy fireball!

"Argh!" I cried in shock. The bright light was blazing before my eyes and it felt like my face was on fire! How can fire burn me?! I'm immune to fire! Fire can't harm me!

Then it was like I was surrounded by hot burning flames. The heat was intense and blazing wildly like a crazy monster. Suddenly, I saw something dashing towards me. I could hear the sound of hooves galloping loudly and the figure getting closer at high speed. It only took me a second to make out what it was. It was a large black stallion with fire blazing from its mane and tail. Its eye were also burning with fire. The flames around it didn't seem to harm it as it came charging towards me.

As I watch frozen on the spot as the creature was about to run me over, everything went black.

**~Frost's POV~**

"Lantern! Stop!" I watched in horror as Cinder was about to throw a fireball at Abby. I ran like I never ran before. I was powerless and I didn't have time to get my staff. Abby was in danger and I can only make a split second decision.

I lunged forward, trying to grab Abby. Praying that I would get there in time.

_BIIIIIIIII!_

That's when I heard a sharp cry. I didn't have time to figure out what it was, but whatever that thing was, it was able to distract Cinder for a second.

I pulled Abby into my arms in protection while covering her from the oncoming fire.

"Argh!" Then I heard a cry from Cinder, so I turned around and saw Cinder on the ground. He was flaring on the ground wildly while grasping his face. His lantern pole fallen onto the ground beside him.

"What happened?" I gasped in shock at the sight of Cinder screaming in pain.

"The...the wisp! It just flew at Cinder!" reported Jamie. "And it just blew up right in his face!"

The wisp? Did the wisp attack Cinder to protect Abby? Attacking their own creator? This was something I would never expected.

That's when I make out some fire flickering under Cinder's hands. Cinder was also still flaring around like crazy on the ground and crying in pain. For some reason, I didn't know what to do in that situation. It was like my mind went blank as I watched Cinder thrashing about. Then as the fire on his face started to disappear, Cinder also started to calm down. Then his hands fell to the side and he went silent. He wasn't moving anymore.

The kids and I didn't dare to move. It was eerily silent.

"La...Lantern?" I called out.

No response.

His eyes were covered by the messed up raven hair, so I couldn't tell if his eyes were open or not. I slowly got up and was about to check up on the fire spirit, when I felt something tugging my hand. I turned around and saw Jamie holding onto my hand. In his other hand that wasn't holding mine, was my staff. He must've ran and got it for me during the weird fiasco. So I nodded in thanks and took the staff. Then I slowly walked up towards him, warily and worriedly for the guy. As I got closer, I was able to see that his eyes were closed.

Was he dead? That thought pierced my chest like a knife. I prayed to the moon that he wasn't dead and he was just unconscious. Then I spotted his hand twitching and his chest rising up and down.

Thank the moon! He wasn't dead! I sighed in relief. Well, we were both spirits, so can we die? That was a question that will have to be answered later.

Then when I was about to get closer to Lantern, his eyes flew open with no warning.

I jumped in shock at this and quickly got into a defensive position. "Lantern?" I called to him again.

No reply.

He was silent even though his eyes were open. Somehow, they looked cold and emotionless. Something was off with him. I was about to get closer to him when a wall of fire burst from the ground around fire spirit like a protective wall. Out of reflex, I blocked my face and eyes from the burning hot flames. While trying not to get my eyes blinded by the fire, I spotted Cinder getting up and stared blankly at me.

I stared back, not sure if I should attack him or defend myself incase he attacks me.

_Ich muss Pitchiner finden... _

What did he just say?

Then the fire around him burst wildly and wrapped the fire spirit like a blanket. The fire spun around and covered him completely. When the fire disperse...

Cinder was gone.

* * *

Thank you for reading. Please comment or leave feedback or suggestions.

Don't ask me what Cinder just said there, because I won't tell. I'm gonna let you readers go find out on your own. (Oooooo, game time!) If you ask what language it is, I'll just say "Nein!"If you know what it said, feel free to post in the feedback page if you want to let other readers know.

Just made another artwork based from this fanfic. Can check it out if you want. It's in my DeviantArt gallery like all my art stuffs are. Link is on my profile. The theme for that fanart is "Chibi" and "Cat&Dog". Curious? Interested? Go check it out! :3

**Thank you RainSonata for looking through it and editing some parts for me.**


	28. Chapter 26 The Lost Message

**Disclaimer: I do not own the ROTG universe or its original characters. This story is written within the ROTG universe. The rest of the characters belong to me.**

**Alright, to the person who guessed that Lantern was saying about finding Pitch, you are correct. Basically, he said "I must find Pitchiner." I found someone who speaks this language from an online dragon breeding game I'm playing right now and he/she was nice enough to translate this for me in their language. Now let's see who can guess what was said next in this chapter. **

**Now shoo to your reading time! **

* * *

**Chapter 26: The Lost Message**

**~Cinder's POV~**

Everything around me was dark. No, completely black. It was also silent. So silent to the point where it felt frighteningly wary. It was empty with no end to be seen. I didn't like it. I hated it. It was so lonely here. I have to find a way out!

So where am I anyways?

I looked around and saw nothing but darkness. The light from my lantern was burning brightly. Yet, for some weird reason, it couldn't shine through this darkness. The fire from my lantern was the only source of comfort for me right now.

What's with this place and how the hell did I get here?!

"Hello?" I called into the darkness. "Is anyone there?"

There was no reply. The only thing I could hear was the sound of my stupid echo slowly disappearing into the distance.

I started to walk around, but I didn't even know where I was going. It's so dark that I can't even tell if I'm going straight at all! Where was the god damn light switch!?

Just when I was about to blast this whole place with some fire power to light things up, I spotted a small speck of light in the distance.

Yes! Finally! There's something in this god damn nothingness!

I quickly ran towards it, hoping for something that even I'm not sure what I was expecting. A way out? Get some answers to what the hell this place was? Was there someone here besides me? I didn't know, but at least it gave me hope for something!

After running towards it for a while, the light got bigger and bigger. It was a soft and orangey yellow glow. When I got close enough to see what it was, I discovered that it was a pumpkin. Not just any pumpkin, but a carved pumpkin with a soft glow shining from its eyes and mouth.

It was the typical and plain type of face carved on it. Triangle eyes and two teeth smile. Wax dripped from the small candle sitting inside of the pumpkin's mouth. Who uses candles nowadays? Electricity was a lot more efficient in my opinion, plus it doesn't smell when it emits light. It was an old pumpkin where its thick orange skin was starting to peel away from excessive heat and age like an orange. Overall, it's dorky and cliche! Whoever carved that thing must be an idiot to not be able to come up with something more original!

I picked it up out of curiosity. Why the hell was there a random jack o'lantern sitting here? I stared at the glowing face, wondering stupid things in my head. For one, if it started to talk, I can guarantee that I will flung it into the air and hope it gets smashed upon impact on the ground. But it didn't. It was just a normal jack o'lantern.

Suddenly, I felt another presence nearby, so I looked up out of instinct. Then... Someone was standing before me...

HOLY BLOODY SHIT! WHERE THE FUCK DID HE COME FROM!?

I froze in shock and almost dropped the pumpkin. I thought I was the only person here! Where'd this guy come from? I didn't hear any footsteps at all!

He was just standing in front of me, about ten feet away. Even though there were lights from my lantern and this stupid jack o'lantern, it was still too dark to see the guy clearly. I can barely make out from the structure of his body that it was a guy and his clothes looked like a soldier uniform. His uniform consisted of a long blue jacket with a yellow button down shirt underneath. There was a white strap coming from the left shoulder, across the chest, and goes underneath the armpit on the right side. Lastly, white tight pants and black leather boots that go up to the knee. It looked like some old soldier uniform from a US history textbook. I tried to make out his face, but it was so dark that I can't even see it. Hell! If I didn't know any better, I would've thought that he didn't have a head! The darkness was just that bad!

_Du musst sterben..._

"What?" I stared at him, confused. The hell was he talking about? His voice was deep and it echoed in the darkness.

_Um seinen Wahnsinn zu stoppen..._

"Speak English please. _Eengwish!_" I told him, annoyed. "I don't understand a god damn word your saying!"

_Aber hab keine Angst..._

"Dude! Are you some retard that can't even notice that I can't speak your stupid language!?" I was seriously getting pissed off

_Click!_

"What the...?!" I stared in shock at what I saw and dropped the jack o'lantern in my hand onto the ground. The guy was pointing a gun at me! It looked like a very old type of pistol from some American history museum. Round wooden handle that curved slightly and a round metal pipe where the bullet comes out, which was apparently pointing at me. "Whoa! Why are you pointing that thing at me?!"

_FÃ¼r dich wird er nicht verschwinden..._

"Are you seriously going to shoot me! I'm sorry, man! I didn't know you would get that pissed off with what I said! I take it back! Your language isn't stupid! " I quickly apologized like crazy, fearing for my life. What the fuck was I thinking for calling out on the way this guy talked? Especially an armed guy, who I can barely see his face! Did I have a death wish?

_Also bitte erfÃ¼lle meinen einzigen Wunsch..._

Holy shit! Holy shit! He was going to kill me! My whole body was shaking and my feet won't move!

_Bewahre ihn vor seiner eigenen Finsterniss... _

_Bang!_

* * *

**~Frost's POV~**

Cinder was gone and nowhere to be found. He just disappeared in a gulf of fire. What did he mumbled before he disappeared? It didn't even sound like English. I think I heard 'Pitchiner.' Was he going to Pitch? That language sounded familiar. Haven't heard that language as often since the last century or so when a lot of this country's people spoke it.

"Pumpkin?" I heard Abby whispered behind me.

Oh right! The kids. I turned around to check on the kids. The older ones were fine and unhurt. Freaked out a bit, but unharmed. Abby, on the other hand, was slightly different. She didn't look harm physically, but from the look on her face, she was emotionally. Her face looked pale and her eyes shown disbelief. The shock from seeing her beloved brother attack her like that must've shocked her hard.

"Abby? Are you alright?" I asked worried. I checked her face again to see if there were any signs of her well being.

She didn't respond to me. Then a few seconds later, she began to cry.

"Waaaaaahhhhhhhhh!" Her tears ran down her cheeks as she cried out loudly.

I quickly ran to her and wrapped her in my arms. I tried to calm her down and hushed her gently as I patted her back. After awhile, she began to calm down and hiccuped a few times.

"Jack," Jamie called. I turned to him and saw my staff in his hands. "I think you should go after him."

I stared at the staff and remembered what I had to do. I was so caught up with what just happened and Abby crying that I forgot. So I took my staff from his hands and got up.

"Take Abby and go home," I told him and the other kids. If my hunch was right, then he might be going to Pitch and I didn't want the kids to be in a dangerous situation. Once the kids climbed back onto the unicorn to leave, I flew into the sky in hopes that I can find Pitch or Cinder.

* * *

**~Tooth's POV~**

We were right on Pitch's tail as Sandy and I flew after him. He was riding his Nightmare as it galloped in the sky ahead of us. We weren't going to let him escape us again. I was still furious with what Pitch did with my Lantern's teeth and messing with his memories. I really wanted to give Pitch a piece of my mind. Even with all his teeth knocked out of his mouth, I won't be satisfied. Pitch needs to know that no one messes with her teeth and gets away with it.

Sandy was flying with that sand plane of his, so he was able to catch up to Pitch sooner. He flew the plane passed Pitch, which confused the boogeyman at first, but then Sandy flew into a u-turn towards Pitch again. This stopped Pitch in his tracks by blocking his path from both front and back.

Pitch got the Nightmare to dive down immediately, causing Sandy and I to almost collided into one another. We were lucky to make a turn in the nick of time and dodged each other. Then we dived after him quickly.

"Sandy!" I called. "Try to get rid of his Nightmare! It'll slow him down!"

Sandy nodded to me that he understood, so he conjured up several ribbon of sand from the plane and sent them flowing towards Pitch like streams.

When some of the sand got close to the Nightmare King, Pitch quickly conjured up a large black scythe and swiped some of the gold streams. Unfortunately for him, even if the stream was cut, the sand streams still continued to follow him. Once one of the sand stream touched the Nightmare, the black beast cried out in shock and its body quickly turned gold.

_Hiiiiiiiii!_

Pitch cursed under his breath as the Nightmare slowly turned into Sandy's original dream sand. The black robed man quickly jumped off as the Nightmare was no more and joined the golden flow. He quickly gathered a large amount of black sand below his feet and created his own black platform in the air. He glared daggers at the Guardian of Dreams.

Sandy also morphed his own plane to turn into a gold platform of his own. He stood with his posture ready for battle. Ready to strike with his sand.

I flew towards Sandy and hovered right behind him, gripping my swords tightly.

Both men who had the ability to control sand, one of dream and one of nightmares, stood before each other. They glared at each other silently. It was like watching two cowboys in some Western shooting showdown. Any second and they will strike at each other.

"Feels like deja vu, doesn't it, little man?" said Pitch with this sneer on his face.

Of course, Sandy didn't say anything back.

"Pitch!" I called out loudly and angrily. "Where's Lantern's teeth? I know that you still have them! Give them back!"

I know for sure that in order to control Lantern's memories, the teeth must be intact. If something happens to the teeth, the owner of it will be affected as well. Knowing Pitch, he'll make sure the teeth were safe.

And with those teeth, we have a chance to bring Lantern back and return his memories to what it was before.

"You seriously think I would give it to you just because you say so?" laughed Pitch, mockingly. "I finally have Cinder in my hand and you think I want to give him up? I guess you really are a bird brain."

I cried out angrily and immediately flew towards him in a fleet of emotion. Sandy tried to stop me, but I completely ignored him.

Then Pitch sent a wave of black sand like a tsunami towards us, blocking me. Sandy quickly created three humpback whales from his dream sand in a flash and the giant sea creatures ram through the black wall.

Seeing the opening in the black sand, I quickly flew through it with my arms tucked in to fit through the small hole and zoomed towards Pitch. I raised one of my swords to the side and swung it down at the boogeyman.

_Clank!_

Pitch blocked my attack in time with his scythe. He tried to slash at me with it as well, but I dodged it. Every swing that Pitch tried to strike at me were all dodged since when it came to speed, I had the upper hand.

While Pitch got distracted by me, Sandy created some kind of ball made of his dream sand and shot it towards Pitch like a cannon ball.

Of course, Pitch didn't see it in time until it was already shot into his stomach.

"Oof!" Pitch blew out in shock and pain as the sand ball rammed into his mid section. The force of that impact sent him flying backwards.

Then something flew out of Pitch's clothes from the impact. It was a cylinder object with flashes of gold and black. I immediately recognized what that was.

It was one of the containers that held the teeth! It must be Lantern's!

"The teeth!" I cried out upon seeing it. I quickly flew towards the object as it was falling towards the ground below, hoping to grab it in time.

"NO!" Pitch screamed when he spotted me going for the container. He quickly flew down as well, going after the object. "GET AWAY FROM IT! IT'S MINE!"

"It's not yours, Pitch!" I argued back angrily. "It was never yours in the first place! It belongs to Lantern! As a guardian of memories, it's my duty to protect it!"

"Then I'll have to force you to leave!" growled Pitch. He conjured a mass amount of black sand around him and soon they all formed into spears. A whole lot of spears!

Pitch swung his arm forward like a signal for all the black spears to rain down upon me. They all came down like black rain. A very deadly and sharp rain.

I stared at all those spears in horror. It was like watching hundreds of arrows raining upon me from the sky. I had to quickly dart in every direction to avoid the sharp spears as much as possible. I dodged the best I could, but there were too many of them!

A spear managed to cut my arm when I wasn't careful enough. I gasped in pain from the cut. The injury wasn't deep, but a few feathers were sliced off and there small red stains of blood around the wound. While I tried to ignore the pain, I wasn't able to concentrate on the dodging like before, causing me to get a few more cuts on my waist, leg, and shoulder. But the most important one of all was my wing.

"Agh!" I gasped when I felt my wing getting torn. Suddenly, my flying started to loose control. I can't fly properly anymore!

_Swoosh!_

Then I felt something warm wrapped around my waist gently, but firmly. I looked down and saw that it was a Sandy's golden sand that saved me. I looked around and saw the guardian of dream hovering beside me.

"Thanks Sandy!" I thanked him, but then I realized something. "Lantern's teeth! Where is it?" I quickly looked down to where I last saw it falling.

"You mean this?" I heard the cold mocking voice nearby. I turned to where it came from and saw Pitch sneering at me with Lantern's teeth container in his clutches. He held it in the air for us to see it clearly, showing it off.

"No! Get your dirty evil hands off those teeth!" I screamed at him. "Haven't you done enough damage to it already?!"

"Well, ever heard of finder keepers?" he smirked at me as if he just won a prize.

While I stared at him holding that teeth container in anger and frustration, I suddenly heard a strange sound of something flying through the air. Pitch didn't seem to hear it for he was still giving Sandy and I that mocking smirk. That's when I spot something flying in an arc from behind Pitch.

Is that what I think it was?

_Bam!_

"Argh!" Pitch clutched his hand in pain when the thing that came flying from behind and hitting the container out of his hand.

The teeth container went flying into the air and was then caught by a furry paw.

"Gotcha!"

It was Bunny!

He was standing on the seat of North's sleigh, with the jolly man of christmas steering the reindeers.

"Hope ve veren't late for zhe party?" North smiled at me and Sandy.

"Bunny! North! I'm so glad to see you two!" I called to them, relieved to see them.

For Pitch, he was the opposite. His eyes burned angrily and his teeth bared like a furious beast that wanted nothing more than to rip its enemy to pieces.

"THERE'S NO WAY I'LL LET YOU GUYS GET IN MY WAY! I'LL NEVER LET YOU BEAT ME AGAIN!" Pitch shouted furiously as his emotion exploded.

I could feel a strong pressure like something was squeezing my chest and sense of dread overwhelmed me. It was very unnerving, but I can't lose my concentration now. The battle wasn't over just yet.

Then Pitch sent another huge wave of black sand, but this time, those sand turned into thousands of Nightmares. The black beasts ran towards us with there eyes burning with destruction and madness. It was like watching a menacing wave of black demon horses stampeding in our direction, eager to crush us under their powerful hooves.

The guardians and I quickly got into our battle stances and charged towards the oncoming army of the Nightmare King.

* * *

**~Frost's POV~**

I was quickly flying through the skies, searching for any signs of Cinder. I didn't know where he was now since he used one of his special abilities to teleport himself somewhere. I did hear Pitch's name in that strange language that he just randomly spouted when he woke up. If Lantern was bilingual, then he never told me about it. But that's not important right now. I have to find Cinder.

And the only clue was Pitch.

If North and the others came in time, they should be fighting Pitch right now. It's probably a heated battle, but the number was greater on our side, so we should have a chance. And wherever Pitch was, Cinder will most likely be there. That was what my instincts were telling me.

There was something strange about him. I'm not really sure about it myself, but something was definitely off back there. Sure Cinder was already a nutcase who loved to kick my butt and follow Pitch like a loyal dog, but back there, it felt different. It was like his mind wasn't there. There weren't any evil gleam in his eyes or that mocking tone in his voice. I could be wrong, but that's what I felt. I'll get my answers once I find him.

But right now, our top priority was to stop Pitch and bring Lantern back to normal.

The sky was still dark as night... or maybe it was already night time. I didn't have time to check on the time, but the sky was covered by the dark clouds for hours already. At least the wind seemed to have died down a bit. It wasn't hard to fly around like before.

As I continued to scan the sky for any sign of the fire spirit or Pitch, I heard noises echoing from somewhere. I turned to where the noise was coming from and in the distance, I spotted figures moving about in the sky. I could hear cries of fighting and clanking of metals. Even from this distance, I can see bright gold figures clashing with dark black figures. I didn't need binoculars to know that those figures were the Guardians and Pitch.

Now that I found them, I quickly sped up towards their battle.

* * *

**~The Children's Side~**

The gold unicorn galloped through the dark forest with Abby and the other children on its back. The children were mostly silent during the trip since they couldn't stop worrying about guardian of fun.

For Abby, it was different. She has been quiet for awhile now. Unusually quiet...

The other kids noticed this and pondered whether to talk to her or not. If they chose to talk, what were they supposed to say? Sorry your own brother tried to burn you alive?

Claude scratched his head, unsure what to do or say. He looked at Caleb for help, but even his brother shrugged and shook his head. Cupcake looked back at Jamie with a worry look and gestured with her eyes towards Abby like she was trying to tell him to do something. Jamie pointed at himself with a confused look and Cupcake nodded. Jamie looked at Cupcake uncertainly and then looked back at the twins behind him, who also looked at him as if agreeing with Cupcake.

And so the responsibility of cheering up Abby was thrown entirely onto Jamie, who received it unwillingly. Oh the pressure on the poor boy.

Jamie sighed and gave in to his friends' urging stare. "Uh... Ab..."

"Is he mad at me?" Suddenly, Abby spoke, though almost a whisper, after several minutes of silence and cut off Jamie before he was done calling her name.

"W...wait. What?" Jamie stammered.

"Pumpkin," she clarified, speaking a little louder. "Is he mad... at me?"

"Why would you think that?" Jamie asked, not sure how to answer her question.

"He wook angwy," replied Abby. "And scwawry..."

"He wasn't angry. He was... _not himself_," explained Jamie, trying to come up with a way to explain to her that wouldn't make her worried. He really didn't want to tell her that her brother was under Pitch's mind control or that he turned evil and wanted to destroy the guardians.

"Reawy?" asked Abby, sounding hopeful. "Is he okway? Is he sick? Is thwat why his hwair an' eye aw bwack?"

Looks like Abby did notice the change of color in her brother's hair and eyes, but she still recognized her brother nonetheless. Now that she remembered those details, she was starting to believe that the cause of the color change and her brother's behavior were from an illness.

Jamie was dumbfounded, since it wasn't actually it, but it was pretty close. Her brother wasn't actually sick, but the thing that happened to him did change his personality and appearance a bit. Jamie can only wonder if the word 'ill' was the right word for this. Besides, what kind of illness can change the color of your hair and eyes like that? Much less, a one-eighty degree turn in the personality department.

"Will Pumpkin get bedder?" asked Abby, hopefully.

"Of course he will," Cupcake spoke up this time. "Jack will get your brother back to the normal and back to the good brother you know again," she said with an encouraging smile.

"Eh? Which Jack?" Abby looked at Cupcake with a confused look.

"Oh right, you're brother's name is Jack too," Jamie remembered.

"First, two Abbies. Now, two Jacks! This is getting really confusing!" complained Caleb.

"It's better than having two Caleb," joked Claude. "That would be a real nightmare!"

"Hey!" cried the twin brother.

Jamie couldn't help but feel the heavy atmosphere lighting up now. Even he was grinning a little. When he turned to look at Abby, he also noticed a tiny smile forming on her face. Even her eyes started to look a little lighten up, but there was still the dark and depressing shadow in those gazes as well.

Seeing that, Jamie couldn't help but want to give her a little ray of hope. "Don't worry, Abby. Your brother really does love you and will definitely be back to normal in no time," assured Jamie.

"After Jack Frost whoops his butt first!" added Caleb.

"Oh shut it, Cal!" snapped Cupcake.

Abby started to smile more at this and her eyes were starting to twinkle again. Her mood was definitely getting better.

Jamie felt relieved that Abby was looking better. Also, what he said about her brother earlier was also not really a lie, but there was no absolute guarantee. The only clue he had to his claim was that when Cinder was about to strike down at Abby and when Jack came to protect her, there was this one split second that Cinder froze. It was a small second that could've gone unnoticed with all that craziness, but he still noticed it anyways. If his hunch was correct, then the good brother inside that fire spirit was still there. He just needed some help to remember who he was before.

* * *

While it seemed that Abby was starting to break out from her depression, she still had that small sting inside her heart that still believed that her brother must be mad at her. Or worse, _hated_ her. That was what she was most afraid of. The look in his eyes when he looked at her had no love nor warmth they used to harbor for her.

Did her brother still love her?

Her mind started to wonder about that question. An answer she feared was unfavorable. As her mind wandered in a sea of uncertainty and fear, she heard a voice echoing in her mind.

_Abby..._

Abby immediately snapped out of her thoughts.

"Huh? Wha?" Abby looked at the older kids with a questioning look.

"What's the matter, Abby?" asked Jamie, noticing Abby's confused look.

"Someone call me?" asked Abby, thought that the voice she heard was from one of the older kids.

"I didn't say anything," denied Cupcake.

"Nope," replied Claude.

"Not me," answered Caleb.

"Wasn't me either," Jamie also denied as well.

Abby looked even more confused. She started to wonder if she was just hearing things when the same voice spoke again.

_Abby... I'm sorry..._

This time, she recognized the voice.

"Pumpkin?!" she called out loudly in shock. She looked around like crazy, trying to find any sign of her brother nearby.

"Abby?" Jamie called, looking confused and worried.

"Pumpkin! Pumpkin!" Abby continued to call out to her brother while looking around hastily in panic.

"Whoa! Abby, calm down!" cried Cupcake, trying to hold onto the little girl so she doesn't fall off the unicorn.

Abby continued to move around wildly, trying to look for her brother.

"Pumpkin! Whe aw you?" She cried all over the place, loudly.

She can no longer hear her brother anymore, so she struggled even more and made Cupcake slow down the unicorn.

"Stop moving so much!" yelled Cupcake, getting frustrated.

"Abby! What's gotten into you?" demanded Jamie, shocked by Abby sudden craziness.

"Dude! What's gotten into her?" demanded Claude, just as shocked as Jamie.

"She's gone nuts!" thought Caleb.

When Cupcake finally got the unicorn to stop, Abby just slipped out of Capcake's grasp and jumped off the unicorn. Under normal circumstances, a girl her age wouldn't be able to land on her feet, but miraculously, Abby did. The older kids would've been shocked by this, but they were currently too busy being shocked that the little girl was running off into the dark forest in a flash.

"What the heck!? AGAIN!" whined Claude.

"Does she run off like that ALL the TIME!?" complained Caleb, just as frustrated as his brother.

"ABBY!" Jamie yelled in shock. "Cupcake!" he called to the only girl in the group who was controlling the golden unicorn.

"On it!" She replied. "Heeya!"

So they were off seeking the little runaway girl again.

For Abby, she was running towards the direction she felt was right. She didn't know how or why, but her instincts were leading her there.

It was an instinct called bond. A rare occurrence when two people who share a strong enough bond that would linked them together on a spiritual level. Such occurrence can be found with mothers and their babies. [1] But in this case, it was a bond between brother and sister.

And that bond will soon lead her to what she seek.

* * *

Thank you for reading. Please comment or leave feedback or suggestions.

[1] I can't say if there is a scientific explanation or not, but my aunt and a couple of other mothers had told me stories about how they can sense when their babies are unhappy or about to cry or wake up. They said that they sensed it before it happens so they would go running to their babies while other people including me were like "Is the baby crying? I hear nuttin'." I thought it was an interesting phenomenon and it worked in that situation.

I wonder if any of you know what language was spoken in the beginning. I won't say what it is and for the hint?..._Nein!_ X3

**Thank you RainSonata for looking through it and editing some parts for me.**


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